The Business Growth Fund (BGF), the £2.5bn ($4bn) fund set up by five of the UK’s largest banking groups in order to provide early stage funding for small businesses in the UK, has appointed Duncan Macrae as an investment director. Macrae will join the three strong Edinburgh team.
Macrae was formerly a director of venture capital firm Dunedin Capital Partners before acting as finance director for fashion chain Cruise Fashion. His role with BGF will involve identifying promising businesses in Scotland and the North of England, and working with them as a board member while supervising the fund’s investment.
The position also involves Macrae setting up a larger tea to work across the region. Macrae’s appointment comes as part of a period of rapid growth for BGF, which now employs 44 people across the UK.
Macrae said: "From my former role in the retail sector, I know first-hand the challenges that are involved in managing growing a businesses in today’s challenging market conditions. I also see the huge potential that is latent in the Scottish and North of England markets. The unparalleled resources and in-house expertise provided by the fund give me a great opportunity to capitalise on this and make a real difference to the businesses that we invest in."
The appointment comes in the wake of further arrivals at BGF, including Mark Bryant as business director and, earlier in the month, Audrey Baxter of Baxters Food Group as a non-executive director.