With a Singapore trusts licence now in its hands, the corporate, trusts and fund administration group says its growth ambitions are being fulfilled, with potential M&A deals down the line.

Hawksford, the international corporate, private client and funds business, aims to make good on a goal of doubling its overall size in the next three to five years having announced it can now provide trust services in Singapore. The firm has secured a licence in the Asia city-state.

The licence was issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the development adds another string to Hawksford’s bow. This business has ascended rapidly after being formed from a £23.5 million (£30.5 million) management buyout from Rathbone Brothers in 2008. Dunedin, the private equity house, invested in the business, formerly known as Rathbone International Jersey.  

With the month of May almost in view, chief executive Michael van Leeuwen, who was appointed last November, taking the helm from acting CEO Michael Powell, is bullish about the future and the opportunities in Asia. He knows he operates in an intensely competitive field that has seen its fair share of mergers, management buyouts and involvement of private equity players.

He told this news service Hawksford intends to accelerate its growth, looking at acquisitions as part of the mix. The firm, which currently employs about 70 people in Asia, is close to making a deal in Asia, he said. “We would like to go into exclusivity talks with one target that would add about 200 people into the business,” he said. Van Leeuwen did not identify the target by name. Van Leeuwen, currently based in Jersey, spends considerable time travelling to Asia, with the search for acquisition targets very much part of his schedule.

Van Leeuween is delighted at the Singaporean licence: “This is a significant development for Hawksford and our global client base. The licence greatly enhances our client service capabilities and now also enables us to offer first class trust and fiduciary services in Asia.”

Much of the Asia-based work is around corporate and trust services, with fund services making up somewhat less of its labours, he said. In Corporate services, for example, this is a busy area, given the need that business leaders have for guidance in a world of complex tax, legal and various logistical issues.

The Asia development sees Van Leeuwen’s predecessor, Michael Powell, join the board of the Singapore trust business, enabling the firm to draw on Powell’s 25 years in the fiduciary services business.

Busy field
The rise of organisations such as Hawksford, sometimes via MBOs, trade sales and other transactions, has been striking in recent years. Rivals, in some cases being listed on stock markets and with private equity backing, include Sanne, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and with a Jersey HQ; TMF Group, with over 120 offices in 80 locations; Vistra; JTC and Equiom. Another player on a large scale is Intertrust, which in September last year completed its purchase of Elian from Electra Private Equity for £435 million ($564.3 million).

M&A in the trusts sector has been busy, driven by a desire among some firms for scale and among others, a need to offload entities seen as unprofitable and a costly compliance burden. 

In late March this year, Salamanca Group, the London-based merchant banking and wealth firm, completed a management buyout of its trust and fiduciary business. (The financial details of the transaction weren’t disclosed.) The SGTF senior management team, led by Xavier Isaac (Geneva), Paul Douglas (Jersey) and Gordon Stuart (Mauritius), reinvested in the business as part of the transaction, and kept operational control. Dr Alexander Ospelt, a leading Liechtenstein lawyer, took a minority stake in the business.

Last year, Baring Private Equity Asia’s acquisition last October of a majority stake in Vistra Group and Orangefield Group led to Orangefield being rebranded under the Vistra name.

In 2014, Butterfield Group, part of Bermuda-headquartered Butterfield, completed its acquisition of Guernsey-based Legis Group, taking on its trusts and corporate services business. Salamanca, the UK-based Investec Trust Group; ABN AMRO sold its trusts business a decade ago to Equity Trust. Rival Netherlands-based firm ING spun off its trusts business in 2007. In the Channel Islands, deals have included investment by Close Brothers Private Equity in Jersey Trust Company and Kleinwort Benson’s acquisition of Close Brothers Offshore Group. In 2011, TMF and Equity Trust merged. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group has completed the sale of its ANZ Trustees business to Equity Trustees.