With a wealth of experience of sitting on and advising successful boards, Professor Ian Reeves CBE and his daughter Natasha explain why they are trusting Jersey to provide the perfect platform for their international business advisory firm, Synaps International
Can you give us an insight into Synaps?
Ian Reeves (IR): I’ve got a civil engineering and entrepreneurial background and have sat on the boards of and chaired a number of listed and unlisted companies and investment funds across the infrastructure, property, technology and energy spaces. This experience led to launching Synaps, which is an international business advisory firm.
We work across a wide range of industry sectors and jurisdictions, helping companies change, develop and succeed by offering high-level c-suite support, connections and access to capital where they need it.
The needs of the firms we work with are varied given they range from start-up to listed companies – we have experience in property, tech, engineering and energy, for example.
This means we have to offer a tailored approach to working with clients. Our aim is to be their external trusted adviser.
Natasha Reeves (NR): When we launched in London in 2011, the idea was to pool our collective skills and experience. Our services can vary hugely, from advice on strategic, organisational and operational issues, to M&A, corporate governance and turnaround.
And we offer these services to a global client base – Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the US and the Far East.
I have extensive international operation experience scaling businesses, and our thinking was that by combining our expertise, we had a strong proposition.
IR: Synaps also draws on the skills and experience of a range of senior advisers all over the world, who are all at the top of their game.
This model means clients get access to an unusual breadth and depth of expertise to help them both form a strategy and implement it.
What made you consider making the move to Jersey?
IR: Personally, I’ve had a lot of experience of Jersey as Chairman of GCP Infrastructure Investments, a listed infrastructure fund registered here.
That meant I visited Jersey many times over the years and built up a good network of contacts.
It occurred to me that actually basing myself in Jersey more permanently might make a lot of sense and offer a lot of benefits too – being part of the business infrastructure here and closer to the people and businesses I already knew so well, whilst giving me access to the wonderful lifestyle Jersey offers.
And so around three years ago, I made the decision to relocate here from the UK. We followed that up this year by launching Synaps in Jersey, which has become our headquarters and complements our London presence.
NR: For me, the move is a lot more recent – having considered making the move to Jersey for some time, being here during Covid-19 convinced me that Jersey was the right location, both personally and professionally.
I moved in July so that we could be working under the same roof. Being able to operate here, in such a stable location, is just so important when you are dealing with globally dynamic clients.
Was the set-up process straightforward?
IR: Knowing the island well already meant the move for me was straightforward, not just in terms of setting up the business, but the follow-up support – including that from Locate Jersey.
What really struck me, though, was the sort of care we have received, not just in terms of setting up the business, but the follow-up support – introducing us to people, helping us to make connections.
That sort of ongoing support is not something you get everywhere, but it’s very valuable and has helped us integrate in the local business and wider community easily.
How is Jersey suited to you and your business?
IR: I’ve always been really impressed by the professionalism and the sophistication of expertise in Jersey.
For a small place, it’s quite incredible just how geared up Jersey is as a business centre. That sort of international focus, commitment to high standards and availability of skills matches up well with our own demands and work ethic.
NR: The digital connectivity Jersey can offer is vital. Having that high-level bandwidth shouldn’t be underestimated, it’s a game changer in terms of enabling businesses like ours to be here and operate.
The travel connectivity is also good – having regular flights to the UK and other destinations is really important in enabling us to get to clients easily when we need to, whilst of course, the many good restaurants and hotels here are important in terms of client hosting.
Overall, Jersey manages to marry together a sophisticated international business feel with a really attractive work-life balance. It’s a rare combination.
How do you see your business evolving?
IR: Our Jersey headquarters is our platform for growth, we see it as the base from which we can continue to build a strong, resilient global business, supporting international firms.
We also feel we can offer something different that can add to the overall Jersey proposition and work with local firms. In fact, we’ve already been speaking to a number of local businesses with which we think we could work together.
NR: Our business is quite unique, and we’d absolutely like to be able to add value to the local environment by helping to bring quality business to Jersey, raise Jersey’s profile among our international client base, and promote Jersey as a structuring opportunity.
Find out more – visit www.locatejersey.com
• This advertising feature was first published in Businesslife's City Edition 2020 and was produced in association with Locate Jersey