Scottish accountancy firm Wbg has appointed former Tesco Bank chief executive Benny Higgins as chairman.
He chairs Glasgow-based investment firm N4 Partners, whose seven-figure investment last year made it the majority shareholder in Wbg.
Mr Higgins, who holds a number of other boardroom roles, succeeds Lorna Jack who will step back to become a member of N4’s advisory board.
Allan Dowie, Wbg CEO, said: “Lorna has done a tremendous job overseeing Wbg’s growth to date and I thank her for her valuable contribution in putting the building blocks in place for the firm.
“Benny is taking over at a very exciting time as we embark on the next phase of our journey.
“We see enormous potential, based on the current platform and management team, to grow organically and expand the business further with some exciting acquisitions on the horizon.”
Mr Higgins began his career at Standard Life, where he became a member of the group executive committee in 1996, before moving to RBS to become chief executive of retail banking. He was part of the team alongside Fred Goodwin and George Mathewson that acquired NatWest in 2000 – one of banking’s biggest hostile takeovers.
Following a senior role with HBOS, he moved to Tesco Bank from 2008, staying for ten years. In 2019 he became chairman of the Duke of Buccleuch’s estates company, managing the extensive portfolio of property and land owned by the family.
He advised the former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on the creation of the Scottish National Investment Bank. He was subsequently appointed as strategic adviser to the First Minister and chairman of the Scottish Government’s Advisory Group on Economic Recovery post COVID-19. He has also advised the Scottish Labour party.
Outwith business, In 2017 he took on an unpaid role as chairman of the National Galleries of Scotland, and the following year accepted a similar position at Sistema Scotland, a children’s orchestra charity
On his new role, he said: “Our targets are to grow our fee income to £30m in three years and £50m in five years to achieve a ranking in the top 30 UK full-service professional services firms.”
Wbg has 190 employees across a six-strong office network with a fee income of £14 million serving more than 10,000 clients, 70% of which are based in Scotland, and the remainder in the rest of the UK.
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