Barclays Wealth Advisory launches in Monaco
From Europe Feb 23 2012 BY: Helen Burggraf
, Contributing Editor
, International Adviser
Possibly spotting a need for professional wealth management services in Monaco, in the wake of Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp’s courtroom accounts of a neglected bank account he opened in the principality in 2002, Barclays has opened a Wealth Advisory operation there.
The new “offering” was formally launched to “key business introducers at an exclusive event” in the principality yesterday, Barclays Wealth said.
The new Barclays Société À Responsabilité Limitée (SARL) venture is being headed up by Simon Morris, who has been with Barclays Wealth Advisory for the past seven years, based most recently in Jersey.
Morris will be working alongside an existing team of private bankers based in Monaco, and will leverage the bank’s access to Barclays Group products and services – typically, Barclays said, “working in partnership" alongside clients' own legal and tax advisors.
Barclays said the opening of the office meant that its Wealth Advisory team would be able to meet clients at the Barclays office in Monaco, and support what it said was an “increased focus on high- and ultra-high-net-worth clients by Barclays Bank” in the principality.
Rob Withecombe, head of Wealth Advisory at Barclays, noted that Monaco was “an important location” for his team.
As reported, Redknapp admitted to having used his dog’s name and the year of his birth to identify a bank account he opened in Monaco. However, he denied that he opened the account to hide “bungs” he had received, and on 8 Feb was cleared, along with co-defendant Milan Mandaric, of the Sheffield Wednesday football team, on all charges of tax evasion that had been brought against them.