“The Maples Group’s European offices find Jersey to be a comparatively straight-forward, flexible and yet robust jurisdiction to deal with... the ease of doing business with Jersey is a winning card.”
With 5 offices across Europe including well established operations in; Dublin, London, Leeds, Luxembourg and Amsterdam, following growing demand from clients to have a presence in Jersey, Maples and Calder, the Group’s law firm opened their first office on the Island in September 2018.
Just over a year later and they are delighted with how the business has flourished with Maples Group now also offering fiduciary services in the Island. Chris Byrne, Managing Partner of Maples & Calder, explains the firm’s reasons for expansion into Jersey.
“There’s a real benefit in being able to service clients in more than one place, across multiple time zones, and so the Group follows clients to the jurisdictions that they favour”, he says. “It was a natural evolution to expand the Group’s international offering into the Island.
Having a combination of legal and fiduciary services in the same jurisdiction offers a turnkey solution which many of our clients expect”.
Recognising this, as well as the benefit of having a Jersey base, the Group began offering fiduciary services in the Island in early 2019 and the Jersey teams have now been fully integrated into the European business, and more widely into the 2000-strong global business.
“Locate Jersey was very encouraging and helpful from the outset”
At the end of 2017, the Maples Group approached Locate Jersey for assistance with the move and they responded quickly, providing support in a number of areas, including ensuring the correct licensing was in place.
In addition to the clear demand that necessitated a presence in Jersey, Cleveland Stewart, Senior Vice President of the fiduciary services business, explains that the Maples Group’s European offices find Jersey to be a comparatively straight-forward, flexible and yet robust jurisdiction to deal with. He believes that this really counts when you’re dealing with complex matters, and the ease of doing business with Jersey is a winning card.
Chris adds; “The industry is proud of the fact that Jersey is a leading offshore jurisdiction, and the Maples Group’s presence here supports the Island’s strong, positive reputation in that regard. A leading global firm has chosen Jersey, both out of client demand and choice.”
Robert Lucas, Head of the Maples Group’s Jersey fiduciary services business sees the Island’s connectivity and travel links as a big plus for any company such as theirs, that has a global presence has colleagues travelling to Jersey regularly;
“We’ve found that Jersey has far better travel connections than certain other island jurisdictions – that makes a real difference to us.”
"...My weekends are free, interesting and there’s a real culture of enjoying home life to the full.”
Cleveland Stewart (Senior Vice President)
Cleveland moved to Jersey from the Cayman Islands with his wife and says that settling in has been very easy and he is enjoying, and making the most of, the fantastic work/life balance that Jersey offers;
“My weekends are free, interesting and there’s a real culture of enjoying home life to the full.”
As a former member of the Cayman Islands Basketball Association, Cleveland played for the Cayman Islands National team – during that time he had the opportunity to travel across Europe including a stop in Jersey for the Island Games. “I knew I would like it from that previous visit – and I’ve been able to continue pursuing my passion – I now teach basketball in Jersey and I’ve become a member of the Jersey Basketball Association.”
Robert says that the first year for Maples in Jersey has been astounding; “We have grown above and beyond expected targets, which is a breath of fresh air. Because of this, we have forecast significant future growth and will naturally need more people locally to support this.”
Chris agrees, and adds that existing Maples Group clients have said their business would not have come to the Island without the Jersey office.
“For example, we recently had a US fund manager client referred from our Cayman Islands office, in order to set up a Jersey structure to be used in connection with an Australian transaction. That particular client had never used Jersey before. We want the Maples Group to be seen as a beneficial addition to Jersey as a thriving International Financial Services Centre and I look forward to seeing the business develop and grow as a result.”
To discover more about the benefits and process of establishing your Financial Services or Professional Services business in Jersey take a look at our pages Why Jersey for Financial Services and The Process of Establishing a Business in Jersey. Alternatively you can get in touch today by calling +44(0)1534 440604 or emailing locatejersey@gov.je.
*The Maples Group, through its leading international law firm, Maples and Calder, advises global financial, institutional, business and private clients on the laws of the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Ireland, Jersey and Luxembourg. The Group is also an independent provider of fiduciary, fund services, regulatory and compliance, and entity formation and management services.
More Stories
Strategically positioned between the UK and Europe, Jersey opens up a world of connections.
- Enviable quality of life and work-life balance
- Highly regarded and well-regulated international jurisdiction
- Safe, secure community lifestyle
- Low personal and business taxes
