In testimonial to Ken McCracken CA | November 2025

In life there are special people who touch your soul, people whose presence brings heart, hope and light. On the 4th of November 2025, I lost a dear ally and friend, and the HALO team lost a brilliant financial mind and a true gentleman: Ken McCracken.

I first met Ken in 1992 when he was a young chartered accountant in Glasgow and also Mr Soul himself, the extraordinary saxophone player and manager of The Glasgow Soul Band, the iconic Counselled Out.

Oh, how I remember those nights filled with music, from Glasgow bars and clubs to the Renfrew Ferry, always sold out and always the highlight of the week. Life felt simpler then, and Ken and the band went on to achieve incredible success, performing at major gigs across Scotland and beyond.

Away from the stage, Ken quietly built a remarkable professional life. When he was not performing to packed audiences, he was a trusted advisor and strategist to many businesses, including ours at The KLIN Group. He became a steady, insightful presence through some of the most defining moments of my career.

I remember, as if it were yesterday, buying KLIN from my dad in 2004 and stepping into my first major deal as the new owner. That deal changed my life forever: bringing WM Morrison Supermarket PLC to Scotland with their first store on our 30 acre brownfield site in Kilmarnock, before their purchase of Safeway. It was one of the most challenging deals I have ever done, with a national supermarket competitor fighting hard to keep it from concluding. (This significant moment was captured. See image in the gallery below – Ken pictured with the wider team celebrating the achievement). 

What few people know is that deals like that only succeed when you surround yourself with the very best team. And Ken was exactly that. The deal would never have been so successful without him, the quiet man behind the scenes whose accounting expertise, strategic insight and financial wisdom guided me and our team through that intense period and many more to follow.

Ken was not only a gifted financier, he was a man of heart, humility and deep community values. He never sought the spotlight, never demanded centre stage in his day job as senior partner and later owner of JRD Financial Services Partnership. Yet he was always, and will always remain, the gentle giant: in stature, spirit and soul.

Sending love and prayers to his wife, the incomparable Lady Kat, to his daughters and to all his family.

Marie and all at HALO