First Names Group, the Jersey-headquartered provider of trusts, funds and corporate services, has acquired the fiduciary arm of Cains, an Isle of Man law and professional services group, as it continues to grow.
The purchase price and other details of the deal weren’t given.
Integration of the two businesses will begin in August, First Names Group said.
Cains is an established law firm on the Isle of Man, and also maintains a presence in London. According to First Names, its Cains Fiduciaries operation has been primarily based in the Isle of Man, where it provides fiduciary and accounting services to approximately 150 client groups, with assets under administration of more than £10bn.
In a statement, First Names said the acquisition of Cains “further reinforces” its position as a major global provider of trust, corporate, real estate and fund administration services, while also bolstering its Isle of Man presence, its second-largest worldwide in terms of head-count. The acquisition will bring First Names’s IoM staff total to more than 200.
As part of the deal, Cains Fiduciaries will be fully re-branded to First Names Group, and its team will relocate to First Names House, on Victoria Road in Douglas.
First Names Group managing director Craig Brown said the acquisition of Cains Fiduciaries represented a “significant milestone, both in terms of our local operations and our international Group’s long-term strategic growth plans”.
He said he was also “excited to see” what the future held “for our continuing relationship with Cains the law firm”.
Added Andrew Corlett OBE: “The relationship between Cains and First Names Group goes back many years, and I am confident it will continue for many more.”
First Names Group is a global provider of trust, corporate and fund administration services, employing some 800 people out of offices in Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Cyprus, Switzerland, the US, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Ireland, the UK, the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.
It has grown rapidly in recent years, fuelled by acquisitions, including the 2014 takeover of Guernsey’s Mercator Trust. It began as the international division of Isle of Man-based IFG Group Plc, which was the subject of a July, 2012 management buyout, backed by AnaCap Financial Partners. It re-branded as First Names Group shortly thereafter.
Through its Jersey operation, it maintains an affiliation with affiliated with Nexia International, a worldwide network of independent accounting and consulting firms.
(Above, left to right: Oliver Webster, Craig Brown, Andrew Corlett OBE)
