Independent trust and corporate services provider SMP Partners, which has offices in The Bahamas, has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Solaris Corporate Services Ltd.

SMP Partners Group chairman, Steve McGowan said: “This acquisition further consolidates our position in Grand-Cayman following the acquisitions of the trust, corporate, custody, and fund administration business from Royal Bank of Canada and the trust and corporate book of business from Cayman National last year.”

Solaris was previously the corporate services affiliate of Solomon Harris, a Cayman legal firm that has recently merged with international firm Bedell Cristin.

SMP Partners CEO – Caribbean Region, Stephen Turner added: “We have been administering this book of business since 1 September 2018 and will work closely with Solomon Harris and their new colleagues within Bedell Cristin to ensure a smooth transition of the book of business over to SMP. Solaris will operate as a subsidiary of SMP Partners (Cayman) Ltd with its own dedicated team to ensure its clients continue to receive a professional and responsive service, and Solomon Harris will continue to act as legal advisers for those clients.”

“This agreement is an opportunity to grow our Cayman corporate administration operation, further enhancing the breadth of services and opportunities for our clients and staff. We see great opportunity for the further growth of our Group both here in Grand Cayman and in the Bahamas and will continue to look for similar acquisition opportunities with likeminded businesses.”

The SMP Partners Group employs over 200 professional staff and is headquartered in the Isle of Man. It is dedicated to providing trust, custody, fund, corporate administration, and accounting services with offices in the Isle of Man, Cayman, The Bahamas, Jersey, Hong Kong, Malta and Switzerland.

The transaction has already been approved by CIMA and closed November 8, 2018. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.