There is an old saying about not doing business with your friends, mixing business with pleasure, that kind of thing, and for one Scottish millionaire investor, it would be appear to be one close to his heart.

Sir Tom Hunter is a close friend of Jon Asgeir Johannesson, the Baugur boss with stakes in many British high street names such as Debenhams and House of Fraser, but he has steered cannily clear of the carnage now affecting Iceland’s banking system.

No matter that Sir Tom regularly travelled to the land of volcanoes and hot springs on his private jet to catch up with Icelandic contacts. He is said to have almost no exposure to collapsing Icelandic banks and has moved away from companies linked to them, including FL, the bankrupt travel group, this year. He has avoided much of the chaos surrounding Baugur, which was closely tied to Iceland’s now-nationalised banks.

Sir Tom sold down his holding in Booker, the food distribution group, this year. The group is part-owned by Baugur and is said to be one of the assets being hawked around the City for sale.

What does he own? Well, Sir Tom owns the freeholds of Merlin entertainment group, so if the credit crunch has not provided enough of a rollercoaster ride for him, he can ride on one of the company’s real ones at Thorpe Park. Or he could go for a drink at one of the 120 pubs owned by Spirit group, of which he is also the landlord.

He is famous for his philanthropy. Last year Scotland’s richest man pledged to give away more than £1 billion to good causes in his lifetime. He funds projects ranging from supporting young Scottish entrepreneurs to backing development projects in Africa.

Sir Tom made his initial fortune building the Sports Division retail chain, which he eventually sold to the rival JJB Sports for about £300 million in 1998. He set up West Coast Capital, the private equity group, in 2001 and has invested in a series of retailers including, Wyevale and Blooms of Bressingham, the garden centre groups. He also owned a stake in Dobbies garden centres.

Much of West Coast’s profit is channelled into his charity, The Hunter Foundation.

Sir Tom and his wife are said to be determined not to burden their three children with a huge inheritance, sources say. However, they will be well looked after, with a reasonable sum each.