ECOVIS Portugal provides corporate secretarial, domiciliation and directorship services to global investment entity

Background

Our client is a global investment company who manages and administers €424bn of assets on behalf of their clients. The company had 8 entities in Portugal for which they needed corporate secretarial services, domiciliation, and directorship services. This client approached us through our existing partner Citco.

Issue

The client needed domiciliation, directorship, and corporate secretarial services for their 8 entities in Portugal. Each company owned and managed its own property/asset and rented it to one of 8 different companies pertaining to the major supermarket chain in Portugal.

Our client’s strategy involved not having local offices, nor their own staff appointed as directors, the immediate consequence being the outsourcing of all these services.

The client also needed assistance to registering their new registered office addresses and the appointment of the new directors.

ECOVIS COMARK Portugal, in cooperation with Citco, was requested to support the client in all the above.

Solution

After establishing the exact scope of work and signing the services agreements with all 8 entities, we designated the two persons that would act as the client’s directors in all entities. We then proceeded with the registration of the resignation of the previous directors and the appointment of the new ones, as well as of the companies’ new office address at our Lisbon office. This marked the first part of our services. Following that we supported the client in harmonising the articles of association of all entities, including the correction of some irregularities that they still contained, including the shares registration. We also draw the client’s attention to the need for submitting the local UBO registration and supported the client in doing so.

In the meantime, we started effectively providing the directorship services, through both appointed directors. That included the supervision and signature of financial statements, service provider’s service agreements, liaising with accountants, auditors, banks. ECOVIS COMARK Portugal provided all its service in coordination with Citco and the client, and this proved to be very important for allowing us to meet the client’s needs and expectations.

Currently

ECOVIS COMARK Portugal continues to provide domiciliation services to all 8 entities of the client, providing support in the draft of AGM’s and Board meetings resolutions, assisting in matters related with the companies’ bank account, liaising with the new Auditors and new accountants, assisting the client in new requests, including some that the new accountant was unable to perform, in order to guarantee that all client’s needs are met.