Renowned fund manager Alastair Ross Goobey has died following a battle with cancer aged 62.

Born near Bristol in 1945, he began his career in the City as a graduate at Kleinwort Benson in 1968.

His career included a spell at Hume Holdings, investment manager at pension fund Courtaulds and director at Geoffrey Morley and Partners.

Landmark deal

He is perhaps best known for his last full-time job, chief executive of the giant Hermes Pensions Management, formerly PosTel, from 1993 to 2002.

While at Hermes, his most high profile deal was the purchase of business park specialist MEPC in a joint venture with GE Real Estate for £1.9bn. Hermes later went on to take full control of MEPC.

He was also long-standing president of the Investment Property Forum until stepping down in August 2005.

Ross Goobey went on to become chairman of the Wellcome Trust, the world’s largest medical research charity, and a member of Council of Lloyds

Corporate responsibility

He will be remembered in the business world for championing ideas on corporate and responsibility and governance that were unpopular at the time but are now part of the UK Combined Code which governs the management of public companies.

He found time to write two books including Bricks and Mortals, published in 1992, about the boom and bust of the commercial property market in the later 1980s and early 1990s.