Last year the Gibraltar-based, UK-expat-focussed advisory firm established its first outpost in Italy.
Jan Bjorkmann, who until recently has been Blacktower’s Gibraltar-based director for Scandinavian clients, has been named to head up the Malta office, as country manager. The office is expected to open in September, according to John Westwood, Blacktower founder and group managing director.
Bjorkmann has already spent “some months” working on the business plan for the office and getting it set up, Westwood added, noting that he is planning to look after clients not only in Malta, but throughout the region.
Bjorkmann plans to work with and alongside such local professional firms as accountants and lawyers, Westwood said.
Bjorkmann has been with Blacktower since 2005, and prior to this, worked in investment banking in Switzerland and the UK.
The new Malta office will be located near St Julian’s Bay, which in turn is located near Sliema and like it, to the north of the capital city of Valletta on the island’s east coast.
According to Westwood, Malta is seen as giving “easy access to the business regions of the eastern Med, and surrounding countries”, in addition to being seen as an increasingly attractive alternative to Cyprus, following the recent banking crisis there.
The opening of the Malta office gives Blacktower nine offices in seven countries, including an office in Surrey in the UK, three offices in Spain, and one each in Portugal, Germany, Gibraltar and Italy.
To read about its expansion into Italy, click here; to read about its expansion in Portugal, where it has looked after expatriate clients for more than 14 years, click here.
