A One Stop Shop Service

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DeMontford Bell is a highly renowned financial services introducer. Over the years, this company has built up a global network of financial services providers, including banks, law firms, accountants and company formation agents

Furthermore, because it sends lots of work to its network, DeMontford Bell has agreed special discounts and expedited timescales. This means that by working with DeMontford Bell, their clients get a one-stop-shop for all their financial services needs, a better price than if they want a direct and faster turnaround time. In an interview with Thomas Jackson LLB, he reveals the remarkable variety of services provided by DeMontford Bell, and his thoughts on the introduction of the PSC (Persons with Significant Control) regime.

Can you tell us about what your company does?

The main services DeMontford Bell provide are: company formation,nominee directors, yacht registration and obtaining licences (for banks,payment service providers, e-commerce companies, online gaming companies, investment funds, fund managers, and so on).

The firm provide these services all around the world and, unlike most competitors, we are totally independent and non-partisan in respect of choice of service provider, choice of best solution and choice of country.

DeMontford Bell Ltd was formed as a limited company in 2013 but the entities have been trading under a partnership since 2001. We are based in Hong Kong, but we are represented in every major onshore and offshore financial services destination around the world. We have team members available for client meetings in London, Luxembourg,Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Cyprus, Malta,Latvia, Isle of Man, Amsterdam, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Can you go into detail about the areas your company specialises in?

DeMontford Bell forms companies in most countries around the world.

To support these companies, DeMontford Bell offers banking services including card payment (acquiring services), opening bank accounts (personal and corporate) opening merchant accounts (MIDs). It also provides nominee directors, shareholders and secretaries as well as non-executive directors and other business incubation services (provision of local staff,offices, assistance with change of domicile and so on). Our accounting support service includes the preparation of financial statements and audit, compliance with local taxes, VAT registration and returns as well as payroll. We also form and support trusts and foundations.

DeMontford Bell offer regulatory support to companies wanting to trade in areas where a government licence is required. We can obtain authorisation for business in almost every sector including eGaming companies,funds, fund managers, payment service providers (PSPs) and eMoney operators. We offer everything from assistance with completing paperwork to a full turn-key regulatory solution including compliance with all local requirements (such as recruitment and infrastructure).

What challenges lie ahead in 2016 for your firm?

It is a cliché, but we try to see all challenges as opportunities. Almost every crisis will create inertia in the industry, which generates a needfor financial services work. It is especially beneficial when this inertia encourages companies to become more transparent and compliant.

The big “crisotunities” of 2016 and the coming few years will centre around the fallout from Brexit and the new PSC (Person with Significant Control) regime in the UK – from now on the true and ultimate owner of all UK corps will be searchable online.

In the short term, we will see a mass exodus of British business (much of it totally non-compliant). Remember that most UK companies were registered anonymously online, without providing any due diligence and have never paid any taxes or VAT anywhere. All of this business, to which Britain historically turned a blind-eye, is going to be swept clean by the PSC regime.Much of the good business is likely to be moped up by Ireland, Cyprus and Malta. The rest will try to find a home where it can, in less well-regulated countries, or will seek to reposition itself to become compliant.

In the medium term, we hope to see a return of compliant business to the UK, especially if the country moves to cut corporate tax rates. This depends of course on the success of the UK’s international negotiations following Brexit.

Can you tell us about any specific industry based challenges you are facing now and in the future?

The introduction of the PSC (Persons with Significant Control) regime will require all true and ultimate owners of UK companies to be disclosed ona public online register. Britain is the first country in the world to introduce such a scheme, but it seems likely that other countries will follow suit.

DeMontford Bell are fortunate as a firm in that all of our structures were already PSC compliant, so aside from some clients with legitimate concerns about privacy, our existing customers face no onerous challenges in 2016 from this particular regime.

The financial services industry has received a tremendous amount of negative attention following the Panama Papers leak, much of this attention is undeserved. As always we will face challenges from prejudice against the industry as a whole, rather than the bad eggs like Panama.

Do you have any further remarks to make? Please quote Startup Overseas when you contact us

Please feel free to get in touch by emails to enquiries@demontfordbell.com

Telephone: 0044 20 3287 9997