Thousands of Scottish startups to benefit from tailored legal support to “remove barriers to growth”

The Royal Bank of Scotland and Harper Macleod have announced a new partnership to offer expert legal advice to Scotland’s entrepreneurs.

Delivered through the Royal Bank Accelerator programme, the agreement will see a dedicated solicitor assigned to the Glasgow and Edinburgh Accelerator hubs. They will offer 1-1 surgery sessions, giving community members access to in-person legal advice at both hubs.

Legal advice will also be delivered remotely through the Accelerator app to 2,300 community members across Scotland.

This will increase the support offered by the Accelerator programme throughout the funding journey from startup to scaling business. Initial legal advice will be delivered free of charge, with further commercial work offered at a discounted rate.

The partnership will also see Harper Macleod supporting key events at the Accelerator hubs, such as for Glasgow Tech Week.

The Royal Bank of Scotland is committed to creating the connections and conditions that innovators need to successfully scale, from early-stage ideas to venture backed growth and eventually exit. The Bank’s Accelerator programme is seeing significant growth, having announced partnerships with the University of Edinburgh and STAC in recent months, and has the ambition to support 5,000 Scottish startups in 2026 alone - more than in the last ten years combined.

Darren Pirie, Head of Accelerator and Partnerships, Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “For many new entrepreneurs commercial agreements and legal blockers can be difficult, complex and costly to navigate. The core aim of our Accelerator programme has always been to remove the barriers to growth, through tailored support to startups and growing businesses.

“That is why our new partnership with Harper Macleod is so exciting. It brings dedicated in-person and virtual legal advice for the very first time to our community members, to unravel these challenges.

“This agreement broadens the Royal Bank of Scotland’s support for our innovation economy as we continue to work towards backing 5,000 Scottish entrepreneurs this year.”

Jo Nisbet, a partner specialising in supporting entrepreneurs at Harper Macleod, said: “Harper Macleod has a long and proud history of working alongside Scotland’s entrepreneurs from the earliest stages of their journey through to scale and beyond. We know that the decisions taken at the outset of a business can have a lasting impact, which is why access to clear, practical legal advice at the right time is so important.

“Through our partnership with the Royal Bank of Scotland Accelerator, we’re very proud to provide dedicated, accessible support to founders right where they are building their businesses. By helping entrepreneurs navigate key issues early, from structuring and investment to contracts and compliance, we can remove uncertainty, reduce risk, and help set strong foundations for sustainable growth.”

To join the UK’s largest community of entrepreneurs, download the Royal Bank/ NatWest Accelerator app here.