Simon McGillivray had a lame foot and was slightly blind in one eye, so instead of coming to the Canadas and being put through an apprenticeship with the North West Company as his brothers had, he was sent down to London to work for another branch of his uncle's business, McTavish, Fraser & Co.

The company supplied the Canadian firm with trade goods, obtained credit for it, looked after shipments and sold the pelts at the best price on the London market.

He made various business trips to Montreal when needed but otherwise remained in London where his authority had steadily grown to supersede his cousin John Fraser, the financial expert in Simon McTavish's time.

During the discussions that followed, Colin Robertson remarked: "I like Simon much better than his friend the Member of Parliament (Ellice); there is a sort of highland pride and frankness about the little fellow that I don't dislike".

The merger was completed by 1821, and having broken the news to the partners in Canada, Robertson again commented, "Simon McGillivray has carried everything without even the semblance of opposition.

[1] Blame for the failure is generally accredited to the dealings of the Ellice family, who since the American Revolution had made ambitions on gaining control of the riches in North West Canada.