A look at the most read stories on eprivateclient this week...
Monday
Charles Russell Speechlys rehired Richard Ellis in the firm’s London office as a partner within its financial services regulation & funds practice. Mr Ellis returned to Charles Russell Speechlys and his arrival to the firm marks the fourth partner to join the firm’s business advisory & transaction services division this year. He has a wide-ranging regulatory practice. Day to day he advises on the nature and scope of UK financial services regulation and regularly assists clients with the FCA authorisation process. His client base encompasses exchanges, multilateral and organised trading facilities, proprietary trading firms and investment managers.
The Isle of Man Financial Authority achieved the highest ‘compliant’ rating in nine of the 10 key areas assessed by the Group of International Finance Centre Supervisors (GIFCS), and a ‘largely compliant’ rating in the other in regards to the regulation of trust and corporate services providers (TCSPs). GIFCS is the organisation that promotes the adoption of international regulatory standards in the banking, securities, and fiduciary sectors. The Isle of Man Financial Authority, which is responsible for the prudential and conduct supervision of TCSPs in the Isle of Man, had invited the GIFCS to scrutinise its regulation of the sector.
Tuesday
London law firm Wedlake Bell added two new partners to its private client and intellectual property and commercial teams. Sanjvee Shah joined as a partner in the firm's private client team, whilst IP specialist Esther Gunaratnam joined Wedlake Bell from Laytons where she was a partner in the firm's commercial team. Ms Shah joined the 20 partner strong private client team from Taylor Wessing, where she was a partner for over 10 years.
Accountancy group MHA, the UK independent member firm of Baker Tilly International, announced a merger with Edinburgh-based accountancy firm Geoghegans. Geoghegans provides a full complement of accountancy services for clients in the capital and across Scotland, including accounts, compliance and advisory, audit and assurance and corporate finance. The merger will enhance the services offered to existing clients, while expanding MHA’s offering across the UK in line with the firm’s growth strategy.
Wednesday
Super prime sellers are returning to London’s housing market as listings of homes valued at over £10 million increase by 5.1 percent on the year, research by London lettings and estate agent Benham and Reeves revealed. The current number of super prime listings in London is 5.1 percent higher than it was this time last year, with 431 homes listed on the market for £10 million or more, up from 410 annually. The biggest annual increase was seen in Highgate where the number of super prime homes listed for sale increased from two to five.
Standard Bank appointed Alex Zomparelli as a senior trust relationship manager within its international fiduciary services team in Jersey. Mr Zomparelli has 25 years of experience in the fiduciary industry and has previously worked both for independent and bank-owned trust companies. He spent the past six and a half years at Accuro and also spent over a decade at RBC Wealth Management.
Thursday
JTC bolstered its European service offering by opening an office in Vienna, Austria. JTC Austria will offer a range of services to both private and institutional clients, forming part of JTC’s global business. The firm said that the new operation will enhance JTC’s ability to deliver “sophisticated solutions to its international client base”, augmenting the firm’s existing European private client offices in London, Switzerland, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
Viberts, the largest law firm to concentrate exclusively on the provision of Jersey legal advice, announced that it is joining forces with Lacey Advocates. Jersey Advocates Beverley Lacey and Michelle Cabot joined Viberts in January 2024 as partner and senior associate respectively. This move further strengthened Viberts’ commercial and regulatory services and made Viberts’ dispute resolution team one of the largest on the island. With over 35 years’ experience, Ms Lacey is one of Jersey’s most senior litigators. She has acted in many of the leading cases to come before the island’s courts.
Friday
HMRC collected a record high of over £39 billion from tax investigations in the year to December 31 2023, up 22 percent from £32 billion in 2022, data from UHY Hacker Young revealed. Nikhil Oza, a corporate tax partner at UHY Hacker Young, said HMRC has stepped up its investigations into areas where it believes it is missing out on large amounts of unpaid tax.
Ocorian completed the acquisition of specialist regulatory consultancy Bovill. Founded in 1999 by Ben Blackett-Ord, Bovill is a regulatory partner to over 580 clients with offices in the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and the US. Headquartered in London, the firm has been built up over the past 25 years on a foundation of long-term clients, compliance services and regulatory advice. Bovill’s team of over 80 specialists, complementary services and global footprint will combine with Newgate, Ocorian’s existing regulatory and compliance business in the UK and Guernsey, to offer regulatory and compliance support to financial services organisations internationally.