The investment firm is putting experts closer to clients as it continues to fan out from its Scottish base.

Edinburgh-based investment manager Baillie Gifford continues on a global growth path opening its first client-facing office in mainland Europe. The office in Frankfurt will be fronted by David Gaschik, the recently-appointed marketing lead for business in Germany and Austria.

The asset manager said that Frankfurt will be a gateway to its European operations, which serves 35 clients in 12 countries and represents €10 billion ($11.1 billion), or 5 per cent of total assets under management. Additional salespeople will join the DACH (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) team later in the year, it announced.

The firm told this publication that opening a back office in Dublin in March and setting up in Europe’s biggest financial market this month had “absolutely no bearing” on Brexit, but is part of plans set in motion well before the referendum vote. The firm, with around €224.8 billion ($251.5 billion) in managed assets globally, has also added New York and Hong Kong to its overseas presence.

The goal is to get “closer” to clients and support them with “local expertise”, Andrew Telfer, joint senior partner, said. “Frankfurt is just the start of this journey to extend the reach of our existing team in Edinburgh and explore opportunities across the region.”

In Germany, Gaschik will look after existing relationships and drive future expansion, focusing on financial institutions and the wholesale sector, the firm said.

He previously led German business at First State Investments for six years, and before that headed wholesale distribution at UBS Germany. He will report to Gavin Scott, who is based in Edinburgh and head of marketing and client services for Latin America and EMEA.