Grossart cofounded the merchant bank Noble Grossart in 1969 with
Sir Iain Noble, buying out Noble's share of the business two years later. Noble Grossart provided backing to a number of Scottish businesses and entrepreneurs, including Pict Petroleum, an oil and gas exploration company, the
Wood Group, a company proving services to the oil industry,
Sir Tom Farmer, founder of the
Kwik Fit chain of garages,
Sir Brian Souter, founder of the
Stagecoach Group of bus and rail operators,
Benny Higgins, a banker with the
Royal Bank of Scotland, and
James Gulliver, founder of
Argyll Foods. Grossart was also vice-chairman of
Royal Bank of Scotland from 1982 to 2005 and was appointed chairman of the
Scottish Futures Trust in 2000. Other roles included chairman of the
Scottish Investment Trust between 1975 and 2003, director at Murray International Holdings, chairman of
Lyon & Turnbull, and he was on the boards of
Scottish & Newcastle and
Trinity Mirror and Alexander & Alexander, the insurance company. His public roles included chairmanships of the
National Galleries of Scotland, the
National Museums of Scotland and the Burrell Renaissance group overseeing the refurbishment of the
Burrell Collection building, and deputy chairman of the
National Heritage Memorial Fund. He was also a trustee of the
Heritage Lottery Fund and the
Scottish Civic Trust, and a director of the
Edinburgh International Film Festival and the
Scottish National Orchestra. == Awards ==