The acquisition will expand JTC’s private client business in Jersey, with all clients and staff transferring to JTC as part of the deal, the group announced on Monday.

The firm said that the move is part of ongoing growth plans as it continues to act on “opportunities for organic and inorganic growth” across its institutional and private client divisions.

JTC did not provide precise staffing details of the merger but did confirm that they are all based in Jersey already. It said that integrating new colleagues and clients would be overseen by Iain Johns, global lead of its private client division, and Paul Weir who runs the firm's Jersey private client office. JTC also did not respond to questions about the  business and assets that the Sanne private client book would bring to the merged operation.

Established in 1988, Sanne has become a prominent name in trusts and fiduciary private client provisioning. Sanne’s chief executive Martin Schnaier said it would continue to focus globally on the growth it has seen in the alternatives and corporate sector. He characterised the deal as “finding a leading player in the market that shares the same passion for high quality client service as we do. We believe our people and our clients will benefit from JTC’s experience and expertise in this sector. I wish all of our people every success as they enter a new chapter with JTC,” he said.

Nigel Le Quesne, CEO of JTC, said its Jersey platform "continues to deliver strong commercial performance, and we look forward to using our extensive acquisition experience to ensure a positive and seamless transition for both clients and new colleagues."

Le Quesne added: “In these uncertain times we are focused on looking after our fantastic people. We have a great business which has consistently demonstrated excellent resilience and sustained growth throughout multiple economic cycles.”

There has been plenty of M&A activity in the funds, administration and corporate services space in recent years. In 2019, SMP Group of Companies, a global professional and financial services group based in the Isle of Man, bought Jersey-based trust and corporate services provider Helm Trust Company. A number of banks, such as Investec, ABN AMRO and Barclays have spun off trusts and associated businesses. In December 2017, investor services firm SGG Group bought Jersey-based First Names Group from AnaCap Financial Services, the private equity organisation, and ZEDRA bought the Barclays UK trusts business, completing that deal in April 2016. More recently, ZEDRA purchased BNP Paribas Singapore Trust Corporation.  The last decade has marked a steady flow of deals consolidating the sector.