Macrae joins the Business Growth Fund

A FUND set up by the big five banks to increase lending to small firms has bolstered its presence north of the Border by appointing Duncan Macrae as an investment director.

Macrae, below, who was previously finance director of high-end fashion chain Cruise, joins the £2.5 billion Business Growth Fund (BGF), which was born out of the banks’ negotiations with the UK government.

He joins a three-strong team in Edinburgh, which is tasked with finding investment opportunities among fast-growth small firms in Scotland and the north of England. Across the UK, the BGF employs 44 staff.

The appointment of Macrae, who is a former Scotland under-21 rugby international, follows the announcement earlier this month that Audrey Baxter, head of the eponymous Scottish soup maker, had agreed to become one of the fund’s four non- executive directors.

The BGF is supported by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered and will offer firms funding of between £2 million and £10m in return for an equity stake and a seat at the boardroom table.