The principals in the private equity fund administration arm of Ansbacher have bought the business from the bank. The business will now trade as Augentius Fund Administration (AFA). The transaction also included Augentius Fund Administration (Guernsey) Limited and Augentius Trust Company (Guernsey) Limited.
Since its formation 3 years ago the management have created a sizeable specialist provider to the private equity and property funds sectors
“We are absolutely delighted to have been able to acquire the business,” says Barry Carroll, Senior Managing Partner of AFA. “We provided the original business idea and vision. The excellent team of accounting professionals we have brought on board have helped Augentius achieve a first class reputation in the marketplace. With our newly found autonomy and independence of mind, we have great plans to improve and expand the Augentius product range.”
Carraoll says that the business was a completely new concept when it was started in January 2003. Unlike other fund administrators, the management team wanted to ensure that, given the complex structure of private equity funds and deals, all funds were under the direct day to day administration of qualified accountants. As a result, Augentius based their operational centre in London, with an offshore office in Guernsey.
“Quality of service is imperative to our business,” says David Bailey, Managing Partner. “And this is something that is virtually impossible to achieve from an offshore location, given the chronic shortage of offshore based qualified accounting professionals. By working in both London and Guernsey we have also attracted a very substantial and high quality client base of both onshore and offshore clients. There is now a tangible trend for Private Equity firms to outsource their back-office fund administration. It started with new start-up GPs outsourcing their administration but changes are now occurring in more established firms. There is no doubt Augentius will continue to expand our client base at a rapid pace.”
“We have grown the business from a zero base to administering over €12 billion in assets in just 3 years,” adds Carroll. “Plans are now being put in place to further enhance our service offering both in terms of our technological capability and geographic coverage to enable us to deliver even higher standards to the industry.”