Company Profile
STM Group Plc has been formed as a strategic investment company specifically to build a leading financial services group operating in the international corporate and trustee service provider (CTSPs) sector. This is expected to be achieved through acquiring and consolidating high-quality existing CTSPs which offer complementary products and services and that operate from complementary jurisdictions to those provided by STM's first proposed acquisition, Fidecs.
The traditional business of CTSPs is to administer and manage personal, family and commercial assets and income streams in tax efficient jurisdictions. The economic factors for CTSPs include demand for more sophisticated tax planning, particularly for high net worth individuals (HNWIs) and those approaching retirement age, and the increased movement and migration of individuals, as evidenced, for example, by the growth in the number of British expatriates living in Southern Spain.
The CTSP market is fragmented in nature, comprising a small number of very large international financial services groups and a large number of relatively small trust and company management businesses regulated by, and operating out of, single offshore jurisdictions. The Directors believe that there is a clear opportunity for consolidation in this market.
STM's first acquisition was Fidecs Group Limited, which was renamed STM Fidecs Limited when the Company was admitted to AIM. Founded in 1989 by STM's chief executive, Tim Revill, Fidecs operates principally from Gibraltar and specialises in financial planning both for HNWIs moving to work, live or retire overseas or making cross-border investments, and for entrepreneurial, predominantly owner-managed, businesses, expanding into or re-locating to other, frequently lower, tax jurisdictions.
The Directors have considerable expertise both of the CTSP sector, and of successfully integrating acquisitions, and believe that there is an opportunity to build a significant group in the CTSP sector, due to a combination of regulatory pressures, increasing compliance requirements, the market need for more sophisticated products and services, and the pending retirement of owner managers of many existing CTSPs.
For further information on the Company's background, please see the Admission Document to the AIM Market in March 2007.