An interview with Mann Vergan, regional director at Amsterdam-based Orangfield Group in London
By Julia Foresman
Managing Editor
Orangefield Group seems to be a one-stop shop. Can you explain what the company does and to whom it caters?
Orangefield is a corporate service provider offering solutions to funds, trusts, investment managers, multinationals, retailers, corporate and private clients. Our main services are accounting, (fund) administration and management support, but we also provide related corporate services like payroll and intellectual property protection to complete our full service offering. With offices located in 19 countries in North America, Caribbean, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe, we offer support in all major jurisdictions.
For simplification, we have three main service lines: International Expansion Services, catering to internationally expanding businesses; Fund Services, offering Fund admin and more to Fund managers, including depositary services (following the new AIFMD regulations); and Real Estate Services, a separate type of Fund support for real estate investors. We have experts for every line, but all teams also work together across the service lines. The simplest explanation of what we do for our clients is that we take care of all the back office work, admin details and regulatory monitoring for them, so they can concentrate on developing their activities without all these distractions and the delay they cause.
You have an extremely varied background. Can you speak a little about your journey from private practice to a director at Orangefield Group?
After qualifying as an attorney in New York and Massachusetts, I moved to Europe where I worked primarily as a corporate lawyer for “onshore” law firms such as Clifford Chance and CMS Cameron McKenna and “offshore” law firms such as Mourant and Harneys. This work experience gave me in depth knowledge of onshore/offshore structuring, which has allowed me to directly interact with clients and explain to them various options/solutions for their transaction/needs. Although I always make sure everything runs smoothly from a transactional perspective I have a fantastic support team, which executes the work (when you’re a transactional lawyer it’s often the opposite). I truly enjoy being the main point of contact (i.e. the one that meets and interacts with clients) and spend less time in the office.
The corporate landscape globally has changed considerably in the last 10 to 15 years. Has the face of your clients changed as well? If so, how?
Over the years the bulk of my clients have been Western investments in CEE and Russia (and needless to say mostly British Isles/North American). This said, I’ve noticed over the years that there are a lot of CEE and Russian clients investing either in the CEE region or even in Western Europe. These days (having been educated and/or trained in the UK, North America, Australia) a lot of Central Europeans and Russians are becoming more sophisticated in their demands and expectations. Clients and professionals from Moscow, Warsaw, Prague etc. are close to being at par with their counterparts in New York and London in relation to professionalism and knowhow.
What sets Orangefield Group apart from similar services? Why “outsource” corporate services?
There are a lot of financial service providers, but most of them are limited to either a specific geographical area or a specific type of service, or both. They can have locations worldwide but only provide accounting services, for instance.
The significant downside of this, which Orangefield caught on to very quickly, is that internationally expanding companies and funds outsourcing to these providers need to find a different party for their activities in a new jurisdiction they are accessing, or they are constantly switching between the company that does their trade management and the company that does their main administration. It is time consuming to have all these different parties that you need to keep track of. What Orangefield offers is the whole package and only one person you need to call, who knows everything that’s going on and has short lines with all other worldwide offices. A huge advantage, especially for small to midsize companies: you can move fast. If you want a new structure set up in China next week, we can make that happen.
Why outsourcing corporate services is a great move for many companies is, first of all, that it keeps you lean. Outsourcing prevents your company from growing heavy with services or divisions that might not fit with the company’s strategy two years later. Why you would outsource your corporate services specifically has a lot to do with knowledge, know-how and network. When you move into a new jurisdiction, start a new service, or take any other step with a large aspect of unpredictability, you want to be as prepared as possible but remain flexible. Working with a partner like Orangefield with decades of experience, local expertise, and a worldwide network allows exactly that, without you having to re-invent the wheel and lose momentum.
The professional makeup of Orangefield Group seems almost as diverse as the clientele. Accountants, attorneys, PE professionals- What’s the draw?
Needless to say a lot of the directors hail from either the Big Four (or six) or from international law firms. A big draw for people that join Orangefield is the entrepreneurial attitude. Orangefield is big enough to offer complete solutions and serve international clients in all major jurisdictions but still is a mid-size company. This means that there is room to build and grow. One can truly make a difference in such an organization: people that are attracted to Orangefield are ambitious and want the responsibility of making decisions and taking action on their own.
