There is a new, independent player in the world of fiduciary services in the offshore market.

Appleby Fiduciary Business has confirmed that the management buyout from the Appleby Group by private equity firm Bridgepoint has been completed, so AFB and the Appleby law firm are now two independent businesses. 

AFB said it expects to launch its new fiduciary brand in the first quarter of this year.

Farah Ballands, who will lead the AFB team as chief executive, said AFB has grown to have more than 350 staff located across nine offshore jurisdictions.

“The [AFB] team is also busy working on a number of strategic initiatives that we look forward to communicating over the next few weeks, including the appointment of our new chairman. This is the beginning of an exciting journey for us as an independent fiduciary business,” said Ballands. 

Advisors involved in this transaction included PricewaterhouseCoopers, Macfarlanes and Kinetic (for Appleby); KPMG/ Wyvern Partners; Stikeman Elliott; Intuitus; Marsh and Travers Smith, for Bridgepoint, and Liberty Corporate Finance, PwC and Dickson Minto, for management.