Northern Trust has set up a dedicated private equity fund administration team in Dublin. It will offer services to private equity funds and private equity related fund structures domiciled in the Irish capital, including financial reporting, investor services and corporate governance services for funds, fund of funds, limited partnerships and companies. Northern Trust is already the largest provider in Guernsey, having acquired the private equity fund administration operation there as part of the Barings acquisition.
“Northern Trust is a first mover in Dublin in terms of officially declaring the formation of a dedicated, full-service private equity fund administration team,” says Paul Guilbert, Head of Private Equity Fund Administration at Northern Trust. “By replicating the range of services we have been offering in Guernsey for over 20 years, our aim is to capitalise early on opportunities opening up in the Dublin market. We are already serving private equity clients in Dublin and are seeing a lot of interest in our market-leading solutions.”
The Barings private equity fund administration operation in Guernsey dates back to the mid 1980s. Northern Trust says Dublin is now also becoming a more popular domicile for private equity and private equity related funds because it has the benefits of being an offshore centre whilst still being within the European Union, the latter being seen as beneficial by some investors given the drive towards tax harmonization between the EU countries.
“Northern Trust is one of the largest offshore fund administrators in Europe with a long and prestigious track record in serving both the traditional and alternative fund sectors,” says Wilson Leech, global head of Northern Trust’s Global Fund Services business. “Extending the scope of our alternative fund administration capabilities and within that, focusing on private equity as one area – alongside property and hedge fund administration – is a key part of our strategy to continue to roll out our solutions in new markets, whilst adding resource and specialist expertise to ensure our clients’ requirements are met.”