Glasgow investment firm N4 Partners has announced the appointment of Gordon Merrylees, the former Managing Director of Entrepreneurship for NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Ulster Bank, as the firm gets ready for the launch of a new investment fund targeting entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses.

N4 has continued to expand its investment team and advisory offering with the recruitment of key senior hires, including last year’s appointment of the former Tesco Bank CEO Benny Higgins as chair.

Merrylees said: “Throughout my career I’ve always been incredibly passionate about supporting the growth of talented entrepreneurs and startup businesses across the UK.

“From establishing a leading startup and scaleup accelerator programme at RBS, to my current role with Know-it as Chief Commercial Officer, playing my part to ensure the innovative credit management software firm fulfils its potential as one of the UK’s most innovative fintech startups, I have now experienced first-hand the level of support required for startups and entrepreneurs to be successful and achieve their growth ambitions.”

Higgins said: “I had the pleasure of working with Gordon for a number of years at RBS and his passion for supporting entrepreneurs and startups throughout the UK is unparalleled. We’re delighted to welcome Gordon on board as we look to launch a venture fund exclusively targeting the UK startup community.”