The partnership deal extends to Sanitexpat, the medical insurance arm of Expat4sure.
Blacktower chief executive John Westwood said the arrangement will enable Blacktower to place advisers in theregional Spanish offices of Expat4sure. The operation will be managed from Blacktower’s Marbella offices by Ally Kerr, who oversaw the negotiations with Expat4sure on behalf of Blacktower.
Kerr, who has been with Blacktower for five years, and who is director of its Costa del Sol, Canary Islands and Balearic Islands operations, has recently been named to the Blacktower board.
Recruiting
Westwood did not say how many Expat4sure offices there are in Spain, or how many of these would be staffed by Blacktower advisers. But he said the company is planning to recruit an as-yet-unknown number of “new and qualified advisers to support our partners in this venture, as it develops over the next few years”.
“We are proud to have been appointed by Expat4sure, and we look forward to working with them, and fully supporting their growth,” he added.
“This is a major initiative, and the first of its kind to…provide quality insurance products and financial advice [side by side] to the expatriate community in Spain.”
Trend to form alliances
The Blacktower/Expat4sure partnership may be the first of its kind in Spain, but it is part of a much larger trend among expat-focussed advisory companies to form alliances with professional services companies in different but typically complimentary areas – and vice versa.
A number of advisory firms, for example, have formed joint ventures, partnerships or other arrangements with accountancy firms or law firms specialising in cross-border issues such as taxes, inheritance and property ownership. Withers, the internationally-focussed law firm, has recently added investment advisory and “family enterprise consulting” services to its range of offerings.
Website
The Expat4sure website has a dedicated section which is branded both Expat4sure and Blacktower, and may be viewed by clicking here.
Gibraltar-based Blacktower has two offices in Spain, and one each in Portugal, France, Italy, Tenerife, Germany, Sweden, and the UK. Its clients are mainly expatriate Britons. It was founded by Westwood in 1986, initially in the UK.
