Régis Leleu, Managing Director of Interstrust in France, describes the activities of this little-known international group in France and reveals some details of the project to open the office in Paris.

Could you introduce Intertrust Group, whose activities you will be managing in Paris?

Intertrust Group is a Dutch company listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, employing around 4,000 people in 30 countries worldwide. It has completed several significant external growth transactions over the past ten years, including the acquisition of the Viteos Group in 2019, an India-based hedge fund service provider that is well known in the world of hedge funds. Our clients are mainly investment funds for which we are service providers for the management of their assets, but also, to a lesser extent, private clients, institutions and sovereign wealth funds. However, the investment fund is an economic concept, not a legal one. For each investment fund, an ad-hoc company is therefore created, whether it is an SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) or an SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company), etc. Our core business is to ensure that these investment companies, which have no employees, comply with their accounting, regulatory and legal obligations. We take care of all specific services such as transfer agent, i.e. keeping the investors' book for fund calls, dividend distribution, etc.

Do you have many competitors in France?

This business, which consists of aggregating all services for investment funds, is much better known in Anglo-Saxon countries, in Asia and in Luxembourg, where we have around 550 employees. In France, these services are generally provided by different companies, including accountants, law firms, asset managers and property managers. Companies like ours are rather rare and unknown in France. However, we have competitors such as Citco, TMF, another Dutch company, and Alter Domus. 

Why open an office in Paris today?

Intertrust had already started an activity in France before the crisis of 2008, but without really giving itself the means. The country's economy is now in a very positive dynamic and favourable to business development. In addition to the growth of private equity, the French real estate market is very buoyant. France is one of the world's top three countries in terms of real estate investment, according to the OECD, EY, CBRE and KPMG rankings. .... However, we still need to be able to provide the necessary services to this industry. 

Can you give us some details about your upcoming events and the composition of your future teams?

We are about to open. The target date is September 1st. Our offices have been identified, in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. The first employees have been approached. I hope to be able to put together a team of at least 10 people very quickly. The size of our staff is still quite difficult to measure. It will depend on our activity which, by nature, is quite fluctuating and rather difficult to anticipate according to the arrival or sometimes the withdrawal of more or less important customers. We also intend to rely on shared service centres located abroad.