Trust and Company Services

Trusts are a sophisticated tool for estate planning and in Gibraltar are governed by a legal system based on English common law and equity. Through our licensed and regulated operation in Gibraltar, we offer a specialised trust service. The trust fiduciary arm for the Gibro Group is (Gibraltar) Trustees Limited (GTL), registered under the laws of Gibraltar, fully licensed as Professional Trustees. Our clients can be assured both that our services are supervised by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission and are fully compliant with Gibraltar’s robust regulatory system and professional best practices.

We make available to our clients a wealth of expertise in relation to setting up and administering Trusts. We understand the importance of confidentiality and a Trust provides a means to manage assets in a way that offers confidentiality: in essence a Trust is a private confidential arrangement between the Settlor and the Trustees (with the exception of an Asset Protection Trust). Assets are held under the Trust name and therefore the Settlor enjoys privacy regarding the nature of their investments and to whom they are giving the benefits. Furthermore, Discretionary Trusts offer flexibility for future eventualities through the ability to appoint additional beneficiaries and confidentiality is assured.

We have the advantage of having our head office based in Gibraltar: Trusts created in Gibraltar do not need to be registered and do not require any type of filing, with the exception of Asset Protection Trusts. However, these latter are confidential, contain only minor details such as the name and date of the settlement, details of the Trustees, the amount and description of the assets transferred, and are not open to the public.

With client requirements always in focus, we can advise on the suitability of Trusts to meet their individual needs, for example, to protect assets from political risk or from local government agencies or authorities that may have the power to freeze or expropriate assets of citizens or residents of that country.

We are skilled tax planners and are able to use our expertise in establishing and administering Trusts to provide our clients with tax efficiencies: Trusts established by non-residents of Gibraltar exclusively for the benefit of non-residents of Gibraltar are exempt from income tax on any gains or profits in Gibraltar made by the Trust, even if the Trustees are resident in Gibraltar.

Through our ability to draw on a wide range of expertise within our organisation, we can provide clients with a personally tailored, confidential and sophisticated way of family succession planning through the setting up of appropriate Trusts, whereby we can enable a Settlor to make financial provisions for his family and for others during his lifetime and after his death. While subject to local anti-avoidance laws, if structured correctly, Discretionary Trusts can also be a very effective way of avoiding wealth and inheritance taxes in various countries. Furthermore, Trustees, with their in-depth knowledge of the Trust and Trust Assets, provide continuity of management and advice to the surviving family on the death of the Settlor.

Trusts established in Gibraltar can provide efficient solutions to Probate problems that may arise on the death of the Settlor. In these cases, the assets would be held in the name of the Trustees not in the name of an individual or a company, and therefore there would be no need for a grant of probate or equivalent as the assets continue to be vested and legally registered with the Trustees. The death of the Settlor thus has no effect on the Trust Property and the beneficial interest in the Trust Assets are preserved to the beneficiaries without undue delay.

Our expert team can provide advice on the suitability of trusts giving particular regard to the jurisdiction where the Settlor is resident, the need to preserve the unity and continuity of a family business, and what action to take where a claim by heirs is subject to time or procedural or material limits. We also make sure that all formalities are observed prior to establishing a Trust.

We have many years’ experience in setting up all types of vehicles, including private companies, limited partnerships, companies, protected cell companies and public limited companies listed in the Gibraltar and London Stock Exchanges. Although our head office is in Gibraltar, we operate in a number of jurisdictions and offer administration and management services across the globe. Our experts ensure that companies that we administer comply with the relevant standards of legal and financial practice and standards of corporate governance, which includes the excellent maintenance of company records.

We provide off-the-shelf ready made companies already incorporated and ready to trade in order to allow corporate clients to take advantage of speedy incorporation to serve their commercial needs.

With skilled teams operating in a number of jurisdictions, and with excellent relationships with leading banks, our experts are able to arrange the opening of various types of corporate bank accounts for our clients. We liaise with the banks on the client’s behalf to provide on-going support in order to help them make the best banking decisions to support their company’s finance requirements, whether these be borrowing or investment decisions.

Through associated accounting firms, we can arrange for accounts to be prepared that comply with any local obligations, or at the client’s request, we prepare management accounts, this among a wide range of the accounting services that we offer.

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As administrators of the full spectrum of corporate vehicles, we provide expert advice on legal and regulatory issues in most major jurisdictions, enabling both local and international corporate clients ensure compliance.

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Exclusively for Gibro’s clients and ideal for those who want to store their important documents in a safe and secure environment, we are offering safe document deposit facilities. Housed within our very own World War 2 ‘bunker”, each Gibro client (numbers permitting) can have their own secure and completely confidential deposit box for their key documents, such as Wills, Trusts, Deeds, share certificates, lists of assets, investment certificates and so on.

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