Our team has decades of experience at the heart of successful businesses. We each bring different skills and experience to the businesses we work with and are great believers that the key to success lies in teams, not individuals.

Our team


  • Brian founded Nevis with John and James Pirrie in 2007 and has led its growth to become one of the leading UK investors in sub £10m deals. Prior to this, Brian spent 14 years at PwC, latterly as Corporate Finance Director and has completed over 100 transactions during his 25 years in Corporate Finance. He is passionate about supporting businesses to grow and develop and has been actively involved with the Prince’s Trust and now Scottish Edge for over 15 years. Brian is a Trustee and Treasurer of the JMA Trust, a charity which helps people in hardship across Scotland.

    When he is not doing a deal or working with the portfolio you are most likely to find him playing sport or enjoying time with his family.

  • Ian joined Nevis in 2008 and was promoted to Partner in 2015. Having qualified as a CA with PwC, Ian worked in the Corporate Finance team before working in Malawi with the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative. There he was part of a small team investing to create sustainable businesses with a significant social impact. Ian’s role in Nevis is split between sourcing new investments and working with the existing portfolio.

    Outside of work, Ian enjoys football and golf and spending time with family.

  • James is a Chartered Accountant and while still a trainee, he spent all his spare time working with his brother John to establish LCH Generators. He turned his hand to everything that needed doing, from workshop to sales.

    As the business grew, James evolved financial controls and information systems that provided the tools required to control a successful nationwide multi-location business. He championed the adoption of market leading IT systems and innovative marketing techniques. Before its sale to Speedy Hire PLC in 2006, LCH was a multi-faceted business with more than 200 employees operating from 6 depots across the UK.

    James is a strategic thinker and entrepreneur with ideas and vision. In 2004 he and John were finalists in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards and in 2006 they were finalists in the Entrepreneurial Exchange’s annual awards.

    James invests in the commercial property market and has been a volunteer business mentor. He enjoys the outdoors, from hill walking to skiing, and indulges his passion for nature by planting trees – 146,000 so far.

  • John is a decisive, self-driven entrepreneur with strategic vision. He started LCH Generators after a successful career in marine engine sales and as Managing Director he provided strong leadership and developed key customer relationships that endured. Highly customer focused and with a desire to create a top quality company John concentrated on the strategic development of the business. He was responsible for evolving the company infrastructure, IT systems, training, vehicle fleet and supplier relationships. He was also responsible for building the company’s headquarters and in acquiring and preparing depot premises throughout the UK.

    John spends his free time sailing and socialising with family and friends.

We launched Nevis in 2007 to bring something different to business owners looking to sell their business or seeking the support required to grow.

We’re different to financial investors having owned and operated businesses ourselves. We know that your people, systems and processes are just as important as your monthly accounts pack.

Most business owners care about protecting their legacy. This is why we believe our alternative to trade sale or private equity can be attractive. Trade buyers and competitors can destroy a brand or not need your people. Private equity buyers can be more focused on short term profits and who they can sell the business on to.

We’re different. We buy entire businesses, majority stakes or minority stakes and can tailor our approach to your individual situation. We’re business owners not private equity investors, so we will protect and support the business and its people over the long term.

If our approach sounds attractive and your business fits our criteria, we’d be delighted to meet. We’re straight-forward to deal with and will quickly let you know whether or not we think Nevis would be a good fit for your business.

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