The original driving force behind the formation of the British Linen Company (as it was first named) was Andrew Fletcher, Lord Milton.

In 1727 he had been instrumental in the formation of the Edinburgh Linen Co-Partnery and in the early 1740s Milton wanted to expand it, make it national and capable of marketing in England.

[5]: 303 The men who were to see this concept to fruition were "two young and enterprising Edinburgh linen manufacturers", Ebenezer McCulloch and William Tod.

However, the lack of limited liability proved an obstacle to fundraising, and the alternative route of a royal charter was sought.

"[5] Despite the increasing provision of banking services, the company remained primarily an industrial concern through the 1750s but with limited financial success.

However, new management discovered that the financial position was worse than expected and the subsequent failure of McCulloch's business meant British Linen got some of its old manufacturing back again.

[7] It was not just the difficulty in withdrawing from the linen industry that made the transition drawn out – there remained uncertainty over the legality of their banking.

In 1762 the company actually took counsel's opinion on the legality of banking and it was only on receiving reassurance that it agreed to open deposit accounts for "friends".

In April 2000 the British Linen Bank finally closed its headquarters doors at 4 Melville Street, Edinburgh.

In 2000, the British Linen Advisers was formed by the acquisition of the corporate finance operations from the Bank of Scotland by an independent group of businessmen and women.

Robert Louis Stevenson's classic historical adventure novel, Kidnapped (1886), ends at 2 PM on 25 August 1751, outside the British Linen Company in Edinburgh, Scotland, where its protagonist, David Balfour, plans to manage his inherited income.