The family office of a billionaire entrepreneur

We act for a multi-generational entrepreneurial family with substantial operating businesses and investment assets across multiple sectors and jurisdictions.

Our relationship

We were initially engaged to review an existing structure and create a family office. Over a decade later, we are now the principal legal advisers to the family office, with strong institutional knowledge of the family, the family office and all business structures. The complex needs of this sophisticated international family office means that we draw on almost all areas across the firm to provide a unique and innovative service.

The client benefits from a close-knit team who advise on a full spectrum of matters, including personal and corporate tax, succession planning for family members and their businesses and structures, relocations, investment activities, corporate governance, competition and commercial issues, commercial and residential property advice, disputes and employment advisory matters. We also coordinate the advice from non-UK counsel across multiple jurisdictions. 

Our advice

Our advice to the client is wide-ranging. Key areas of advice have included:

Long-term development of asset-holding structure

Having originally advised on the creation of the family office structure, we provide ongoing advice on the development of the asset-holding structure to meet evolving family needs. This has included restructuring the family asset-holding structure and establishing a presence in an alternative jurisdiction to support the needs of the family and the structure. 

We have also advised on the consequences for family members as they move between jurisdictions and have been particularly involved in matters of succession and managing the governance and tax issues for the group ensuring that the group is able to operate effectively for the long-term. This naturally requires the involvement of specialists from across the firm including input from a cross-border tax, regulatory and commercial perspective.

Diversified investments

We are the architects of a bespoke investment structure to allow family members to participate in the investment performance of a wider portfolio. We have advised on investments in private equity and other funds, the sale and acquisition of significant UK commercial properties, the development of co-invest structures and more complex transactions relating to investments. 

Our advice also includes the governance of investment activities, the remuneration of investment professionals involved in the structure.

Personal planning

Over the years we have worked with individual family members on their personal tax position, particularly as they move between jurisdictions, including pre-arrival planning in preparation for them becoming resident in a new jurisdiction, such as the US.

The outcome

Our advice has focused not only on supporting the family's current business and investment activities, but also on ensuring that governance, succession and ownership arrangements continue to evolve alongside the family's long-term objectives.