DeVere reopens Madrid office

Three years after shutting it down, international advisory firm deVere Group has re-opened its office in Madrid.

Based in the city’s finance district, the relaunch is being led by David Owen, who was previously a senior wealth consultant for deVere Acuma in Dubai.

He will report directly to Andrew Oliver, senior area manager of deVere Spain, and James Green, the recently-appointed head of western Europe and son of company founder and chief executive Nigel Green.

The office will have seven full-time consultants and their respective support staff by the end of 2018.

Economic and Brexit drivers

The Madrid branch was closed in 2014 and clients transferred to the firm’s Marbella and Barcelona offices.

Owen attributed the decision to reopen in Madrid to the strengthening Spanish economy and Brexit.

He said: “With a growing amount of enquiries from this area over the last year, we decided to relaunch a physical presence in the city.

“The move is consistent with deVere’s long-standing approach of being located in those destinations wherever there is a significant and growing demand from expatriates and international investors who seek our cross-border financial expertise.”

He added that Spain’s “economy is back to pre-crisis size, growing by 0.9% in the second quarter thanks to improved exports and household spending”.

“Of course, as the capital and nation’s major financial hub, Madrid is both a driver and main beneficiary of this upturn. The positive economic forecast is contributing to attract more and more expats and investors from overseas to the city.”

He said that there has also been “an increase for some financial products, such as recognised overseas pension transfers, by expatriates before the end of the UK’s ‘divorce proceedings’ with the EU”.