Ivory & Sime rebuilds fund manager team

Ivory & Sime, the troubled Edinburgh investment management group, yesterday moved to repair some of the damage caused by last week's ousting of managing director Colin Hook by announcing the recruitment of five senior fund managers, writes Magnus Grimond.

The new recruits will fill some of the gaps created in the last two months by the departure of seven executives, including two board members, which has prompted speculation that the group is ripe to be taken over.

But Sir David Kinloch, who was drafted in by Caledonia Investments, Ivory's controlling shareholder, to replace Mr Hook, again firmly rebutted any suggestion that the group was for sale and suggested that morale was starting to improve. "I would like to think things are much more stable here." The group had not lost any funds under management since the latest upheavals came to light, he said. "I think clients are broadly happy."

The team is headed by Raymond Haines, formerly of Hill Samuel Asset Management. Also joining are: Paul Galloway, a refugee from General Accident; Danika O'Neal, coming from Investment Bank Austria; and Raymond Abbott, returning to Ivory after seven months with the Royal Bank of Scotland. George Purves, is already in place as senior dealer after 30 years with the Edinburgh stockbrokers Bell Lawrie White.