Housebuilder and cattle breeder bequeaths £13m to friends and former employees

A SCOTS businessman has given a group of friends and former employees an extra special Christmas present by leaving them his £13.2 million fortune in his will.

Rae Grieve, of Lundin Links, Fife, a former housebuilder and Aberdeen Angus cattle breeder died in April from a heart condition aged 83. He did not marry or have any children.

He set up Lundin Homes and established one of the leading Aberdeen Angus herds in the country at his farm in Lundin Links, Fife.

Mr Grieve instructed his wealth be placed into a trust of which 13 people were named beneficiaries. They include Alastair Cormack, his stockman at his farm, Alan and Tom Spence, fellow directors at Lundin Homes, and Moira Birrell, sales manager.

Others to benefit include his doctor, an accountant who did work for him and Mr Grieve’s cousin Margaret Black and her children.

Farm worker Andrew Shaw, 54, who was given a job at Mr Grieve’s farm after being made redundant, is also one of the beneficiaries.

Mr Shaw said: “Rae was a gentlemen, the salt of the earth. I had done contracting work for him over the years but after I was made redundant a few years ago he gave me a full-time job on the farm.

“That was just typical of him, he would never see anybody stuck. I’m not surprised to hear he has been so generous.”