The KPMG firms in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man have announced the merger of their businesses to form a single practice operating across the Crown Dependencies.
The combined practice, a professional services business of 430 staff, forms a core part of the KPMG Islands Group, made up of international financial centres and overseas territories spanning a subregion from Malta to the Caribbean.
The grouping works with other KPMG practices in global financial centres, such as London and New York, to offer clients local and global expertise across KPMG’s network.
Neale Jehan (pictured), who is based in Guernsey and has been with KPMG for more than 20 years, will be the inaugural Senior Partner of the new Crown Dependencies business.
He commented: “It made sense to align ourselves so we can leverage a larger pool of staff and specialists to meet our clients’ expectations, and invest together in driving growth and operational efficiency.
"The new practice is wholly owned by its local partners, who will continue to make decisions for our jurisdictions. As the world works closer virtually cross-border, the historic boundaries of how we deliver our services are being lost – we are stronger and more flexible together.”
Russell Kelly, based in the Isle of Man, will be Head of Advisory in the new practice.
The businesses have worked more closely together over the past three months and legally formalised the merger to take effect from 1 January 2021.
Clients will have access to specialists located across the expanded business and in time some engagements may transition to new corporate entities created by the merger.
In the meantime, the company says it is business as usual, with client relationships maintained to minimise disruption.
Lawyers from Carey Olsen's corporate practice in Jersey acted as lead counsel to KPMG on the transaction, working alongside Cains, which advised on the Isle of Man legal aspects.
The Carey Olsen team was led by Corporate Partner David Taylor, with Counsel Huw Thomas providing specialist employment and related advice.