DAVID Ferguson, who founded the Nucleus Financial business which was sold for £145m last year, has been recruited to lead an investment technology firm that plans to open its first office in Scotland.

Mr Ferguson will become chief executive of Seccl in April as the company mounts a push for growth in the market for the provision of technology used by wealth managers.

Seccl said that following Mr Ferguson’s appointment it plans to open an Edinburgh office to complement its operations in Bath and London.

News of the appointment comes four months after Mr Ferguson left Edinburgh-based Nucleus following the acquisition of the firm by James Hay, which is based in Salisbury.

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Nucleus attracted bid interest from a range of firms after becoming a leading player in the investment platform market under Mr Ferguson’s leadership.

Ruth Handcock, chair of Seccl, said Mr Ferguson’s deep sector expertise and proven track record would be of enormous value as the company looks to a accelerate its growth.

Seccl said its investment technology powers wealth management firms and investment platforms such as Crowdcube.

It is part of Octopus Group, which also owns Octopus Energy and an asset management arm.

The takeover of Nucleus was opposed by a People Representative Group of employees of the firm amid “significant anxiety” about the impact on jobs at the firm. James Hay said the enlarged group created by the deal would have good growth prospects.