FORMER Chancellor Lord Norman Lamont has been recruited as an adviser to £20m north west turnaround fund Eternitas.

Lord Lamont will help to appraise investment opportunities and oversee the activities of the fund management team.

Darwen-based Eternitas was established in February by Andrew Redmond, former chief executive of Chorley-based consumer debt adviser Fairpoint Group, Alex Craig, senior partner at Manchester law firm Halliwells, brothers Andrew and Neil Duckworth, former owners of auctioneers SHM Smith Hodgkinson, and David Shaw, who was at business advisers Tenon and a director at Fairpoint.

The group is looking to rival Endless and Tenon Capital Management in the search for struggling businesses turning over between £10m and £20m.

Lord Lamont said: "A fund like this can play a valuable role in saving vulnerable businesses and jobs."