Forrest Alexander

Forrest Alexander was an Edinburgh merchant, entrepreneur and founder of Commercial Bank of Scotland. He was born in 1759 and was the youngest child of a sailcloth weaver in Leith who died in Alexander’s early childhood. At around the age of 7 he went to work in the weaving shop where his father had worked. He was later apprenticed to a shoemaker in Leith, and after completing his apprenticeship worked as a journeyman shoemaker.

Alexander pioneered large-scale boot and shoe production in Edinburgh. He established his first bootmaker's shop in Leith in the 1780s. In around 1793 he opened another shop in Low Terrace, Edinburgh. He later opened a ladies’ shoe and boot shop, also in Low Terrace. In 1799 he bought a tanyard and began to focus more on a leather wholesale business. He withdrew from active involvement in his shoe shops around 1807. He remained a partner in the leather business of Alexander & Co until the end of 1816, although from 1810 onwards his attention was more taken up with banking.

The success of Forrest Alexander’s boot and leather businesses enabled him to plan and invest in the establishment of numerous other business ventures. In 1805, after a dispute with his own insurer over a premium which had gone unpaid through an administrative oversight, he formed Caledonian Insurance Company. In 1821 he established Insurance Company of Scotland. In 1820s he also established Sea Insurance Company, Australian Company of Edinburgh & Leith, and Edinburgh & Leith Glass Co.

Around 1808 Alexander’s bank unexpectedly refused a request to discount some bills of exchange for him. This incident prompted Alexander to start planning a rival bank, in the hope of creating a bank that would be more attuned to the needs of business customers. After 18 months of preparation, his scheme led to the foundation of Commercial Banking Company of Scotland in 1810. Alexander served as a director of the bank from its foundation until his death in 1833. Even in later years, after he had withdrawn from most of his business interests, he continued to visit the bank daily and to take an active interest in its affairs.

Alexander also had charitable interests that included Edinburgh Beneficent Society, in whose establishment he was involved; Magdalen Asylum, of which he was a director; and the Destitute Sick Society, for which he was a visitor.