A Scottish fund management company has signed a $27 million (?16 million) deal with the Bank of Bermuda to manage a blue chip Japanese fund.

Martin Currie, a specialist Edinburgh fund management company last month revealed it had attracted ?1 billion worth of new business since November and the Bank of Bermuda deal was announced this week, the Scotsman newspaper reported.

The mandate, which follows a string of wins including a ?125 million chunk of the Lothian Council pension fund and a ?32 million pot from the Civil Aviation Authority, adds a prized name to its Japanese portfolio.

Martin Currie's director of communications, Ross Leckie, said: "In terms of size the mandate is quite modest, but Bank of Bermuda is a name which is held in very high regard within the institutional market. It is a prestigious name and a real pedigree client."

The fund will be invested in blue-chip Japanese equities and will be led by Edinburgh based fund manager Michael Thomas, who heads up the six-man Japanese team.

Leckie said the funds will be invested following Martin Currie's model portfolio, which concentrates on absolute growth, and if the fund does well then it will be expanded.

Despite the current economic volatility, Leckie said the company remains confident that it can land another ?1 billion in funds over the next six months.

The employee-owned group has recruited a clutch of high-profile fund managers from London in recent years as part of its development into a large-scale boutique fund manager.