New owner of Barclays trust excited at future

Family-owned Zedra has bought Barclays' trust and fiduciary business for an undisclosed sum. The business operates in seven locations worldwide, including Jersey, its biggest base, and in Guernsey.

Group chief executive officer Niels Nielsen, pictured, founder of Azure Trust in Jersey, is well acquainted with the Channel Islands.

'Guernsey is a really important jurisdiction for us, an incredible base to build on,' he said.

'Guernsey is one of the largest offices and we see it the same way going forward. It offers some very strong possibilities.'

Mr Nielsen said that he believed the island offered a positive environment for trusts, both private client and corporate, with open-minded regulation.

The Guernsey business of Barclays had the strongest corporate bias in the group and also was the only office to run a funds arm, a very small niche part of the business aimed at ultra-high net worth clients.

Fifty people are employed at Zedra in Guernsey, 120 in Jersey and 330 in total across the seven jurisdictions, which include the Isle of Man, Cayman, Singapore, the UK and Switzerland.