Winning it, in conjunction with two other owners, was the icing on the cake. But it was also the continuation of a competitive instinct that saw him play football for Scotland at the age of 18.
Mr Pryde said: “It is a hugely different experience going as an owner than going as a punter. If you’ve been into sport for a long time then you need something else to be competitive.”
He has gained a huge amount of satisfaction from horse racing. He said: “There’s a good atmosphere when you see all the silks and jockeys and if you’re able to compete at the highest level.
“If you’ve a horse running at the Grand National, that’s a tremendous achievement, and winning it is a tremendous achievement.”
However, apart from ensuring the horse is at the right age and has the right handicap rating, the costs are considerable. Mr Pryde said training costs a minimum of £15,000 a year.
He added: “The benefits are that you’ve got all the benefits of what the racecourses provide for owners – you get a lovely lunch. It’s also meeting other people who are participating as owners.
“It’s just a change from dealing with business with clients. It’s a release valve.”
Mr Pryde has been an IFA since 1987, when he left the insurance sector and struck out on his own.
He set up his business, D G Pryde, and is now working in a team of six.
The majority of his clients are high net-worth, mainly senior executives, and he deals with pensions, protection and tax planning, involving enterprise investment schemes and venture capital trusts, as well as trusts for inheritance tax planning.
Most of his business comes from referrals from many of his existing 1500 clients, with 40 per cent from three accountancy firms. His typical client has a £250,000 portfolio, and the firm has approximately £160m under management.
He started out working for the Royal Bank of Scotland and after about 18 months was speaking to a friend who suggested working for Scottish Equitable. He applied as a trainee and became a consultant at the age of 21. He moved to Liverpool for five years, and was also assistant marketing manager at Scottish Widows.
When it came to setting up on his own, he said: “My career in insurance companies was coming to a natural end. I wasn’t a typical insurance company person; I just wanted to be a bit more entrepreneurial and run my own business, and I didn’t want to be an employee any more. Setting up on my own was hugely motivating. It’s the best thing I ever did.”
He has varied the business from limited company to sole trader status and is currently the former, but was a sole trader from 1992 to 2005. He changed to limited status on the advice of his accountant.
Mr Pryde said changing to a retail distribution review-compliant world was not the easiest task, and took a lot of time.
He added: “It wasn’t easy because a lot of things had to change. It cost a lot of money and everything was in terms of professional development. And we were guided all the way by threesixty, which we used as an external consultant. It was a lot of work, costly and time-consuming, and we couldn’t write business.”
That obviously did not take him away from his passion of horse racing. Mr Pryde found his way into horse racing when he lived opposite Mussleburgh racecourse, near Edinburgh, and he went along as a punter. Eventually, after taking more of an interest, the Walton family put him in touch with his first national hunt trainer, Ridley Lamb, who sadly was killed in an accident in the 1990s.
Mr Pryde’s first winner was German Legend which was trained by Tony Lamb. He now owns the Grand National winner with long-time friend Jim Beaumont and South African-based David van der Hoeven. Mr Pryde used to go to Aintree many times with Mr Beaumont, and they decided many years ago to buy a horse together.
He thinks the fuss on the safety of the Grand National has been overblown. He said: “I didn’t have any concerns; it was a very sound horse and an excellent jumper. He was the right age to go for the Grand National, and the majority of people want the Grand National.
“A minority of people that don’t understand horse racing do not like to see animals being hurt or injured. That minority got far too much publicity.
“There are more horses in your hamburgers than are getting hurt at the Grand National. I see it as a very special race.”
Mr Pryde conceded that horses do get hurt, but has nothing but praise for the authorities that manage the course and the race. He said: “I think the industry has to be congratulated for the fantastic job it did.”
Melanie Tringham is features editor of Financial Adviser
CV – Douglas Pryde
2005 – became a limited company
1987 – set up his own business and became Douglas Pryde IFA in 1992
1986 Scottish Widows, assistant marketing manager, pensions
1985 various insurance companies
1974 Scottish Equitable, consultant
1972 Royal Bank of Scotland, teller/clerk
