Bank of Scotland plans to significantly increase its investment in private equity as it looks to strengthen the bank's position in middle market deals following its merger with Halifax.

BoS will commit up to £900m (€1.42bn) to the asset class by the end of this year, a 64% increase on the £550m it invested last year. Graham Sturrock, head of investment and mezzanine financing at BoS, said that the investments generated good returns and helped to build corporate relations with private equity funds.