AZJ Legal advised two former Goldman Sachs bankers who had transitioned into private entrepreneurship and were focusing on early-stage venture capital and private equity opportunities. Having secured a significant investment commitment from an East Asian ultra-high-net-worth family, they sought to establish a cross-border investment platform that would allow joint participation in select opportunities.

The clients required a structure that delivered tax efficiency, clear regulatory positioning, operational control, and segregation between each investment vehicle. They also sought long-term support in managing the structure and ensuring ongoing compliance.

AZJ Legal designed and implemented a Gibraltar-based investment group structure consisting of a Gibraltar management company and multiple underlying Gibraltar investment companies. Each investment company was dedicated to a single deal, maintaining clear separation of capital and returns. The management company served as both shareholder and corporate director of each investment company, providing decision-making authority and governance oversight without falling within regulated investment activity under UK law.

This solution combined Gibraltar’s favourable tax regime with practical corporate governance and ensured that management and control remained outside the UK for tax purposes. AZJ Legal also provided non-executive directors and ongoing advisory support to maintain the structure’s operational and regulatory integrity.

The outcome was a tailored, compliant, and efficient structure that empowered the entrepreneurs and their UHNW partners to co-invest in high-value opportunities with full flexibility and minimal tax exposure.