Robus Group, an independent insurance management, fiduciary and financial advisory group, has opened a new office in Malta to ensure that its clients can continue to access the European Single Market once the UK leaves the European Union (EU) in March 2019.
Jonathan Abela has been appointed to lead the Malta operation, and together with his colleagues has already begun onboarding and servicing clients seeking an EU solution to their domiciliary requirements.
The Malta office is situated in San Gwann, is licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority, and complements Robus’s presence in Guernsey and Gibraltar by providing a gateway to Europe, the company explained.
It added that Malta has the advantages of being English speaking, in a UK-friendly time zone, and offers fiscal benefits for certain structures.
“We don’t exist for Brexit but we exist because some of our clients require the capability to be able to write risk in the EU beyond March 2019,” said Abela. “That’s why we are resourcing Robus in Malta.”
Abela is a chartered insurer who has worked across most classes of insurance over his 30-year career, which has seen him hold a variety of positions across Europe and the Middle East, including in Malta between 1991 and 2006.
He previously served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Commercial Officer at Aon Qatar, before which he worked for Bahrain National Insurance.
Robus has also appointed Matthew Ciantar as a Senior Accountant in its Malta office, who joins from KPMG and has experience working in Malta and the U.S on long-term and general business as well as traditional insurance structures and protected cell companies.
Additionally, Maltese lawyer Angela Thorns, who is widely experienced as a director and company secretary to companies in the re/insurance and pensions sector, will become Non-Executive Chairman of the business.
Richard Le Tocq, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Robus, commented: “Obtaining our Malta licence at this pivotal time for business in Europe is extremely timely and will mean that we can offer genuinely independent advice to our clients whether they need to be in a European jurisdiction or otherwise.”
