JTC has agreed to acquire NES Financial (NESF), a US based, technology-enabled, market leading provider of specialist fund administration services.
The acquisition, which is subject to relevant regulatory approvals, represents a key part of JTC’s ongoing growth strategy and, in particular, its focus on developing its Institutional Client Services (ICS) business in the United States and a commitment to acquire and develop technology capabilities that drive future growth and operating efficiency.
Founded in 2005, NESF has 58 employees, all of whom will join JTC, delivering services from Boston, Massachusetts, where its fund administration operation is based and San Jose, California, which is the company’s corporate headquarters and technology development centre of excellence. NESF provides fund administration, treasury and related services to a broad client base including private equity, real estate and debt funds, delivering a combination of market-leading technology solutions and client service excellence. Through an innovative go-to-market strategy, NESF has also established itself as a leader in the provision of full-service fund administration solutions in the niche US markets of 1031 exchange funds (real estate linked capital gains deferral programmes), EB-5 funds (US investor visa programmes) and Qualified Opportunity Zone funds (“OZ”) (US domestic economic development programmes).
As well as becoming the platform for JTC’s presence in the fast-growing US fund administration market, the acquisition brings important technology capabilities to the Group. These will be leveraged to drive service innovation, organic growth and operating efficiencies, initially within the ICS Division and over time, across the Group.
More information about NESF, its specialist services and technology capabilities, including its proprietary eSTAC fund administration platform, can be found here.
Evercore acted as exclusive financial advisor to NESF in connection with the acquisition.
Nigel Le Quesne, CEO of JTC, said:
“The US is a key growth market for the Group and we believe that NESF is the perfect partner and platform to drive the strategic expansion of our ICS Division and in particular our US fund administration business. We have been in dialogue with the NESF team for around a year as a potential partner and provider of technology services and we are delighted to welcome them to the Group. NESF is much more than just a US-based fund administrator; it brings to the Group world-class technology capabilities developed in Silicon Valley, a hugely experienced and talented management team and staff, and a high quality client book that encompasses private equity and real estate and market leading positions in several niche sectors. We are delighted to welcome our new colleagues, clients and partners to the Group and are excited for the future potential of this strategic acquisition.”
Michael Halloran, the Founder and also Chairman & CEO of NESF will become JTC’s Global Head of Technology Strategy and join the JTC Group Holdings Board, the senior executive Board of the Company.
Mr Halloran, added:
“We believe that fund administration can be transformed through a combination of technology, domain expertise and business process. In JTC we have found a partner that shares this vision and has the experience, expertise and passion to pursue it. We are very excited to have become part of the JTC Group and as well as continuing to expand our successful US business, we are looking forward to applying our innovative approach and technology capabilities to help deliver JTC’s ambitious long-term growth plans.”
