For Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWIs), balancing control and compliance in trust structuring is a key challenge—particularly for those from civil law jurisdictions, where the concept of a trust is unfamiliar. The Private Trust Company (PTC), as established by Gibraltar’s Private Trust Companies Act 2015, provides a sophisticated yet practical solution for UHNWIs for whom the very concept of a trust may cause consternation, and offers families greater governance over their assets without compromising the legal integrity of the trust.

Case Study: Structuring a Gibraltar PTC for a UHNWI

A European entrepreneur, accustomed to corporate governance models as opposed to common law trusts, sought a structure that allowed for a level of influence over family assets without compromising the trust’s validity. A PTC was established as the corporate trustee of a family trust, ensuring continuity in asset management while meeting regulatory requirements.

Instead of appointing a third-party institutional trustee, the PTC—privately owned and directed by trusted family members and advisors—acted as the trustee. A professional fiduciary was engaged as a Registered Administrator, ensuring compliance with the Act, while allowing the family to retain a strategic role in decision-making.

Key Benefits of Gibraltar PTCs

The key benefits of using PTCs in structuring solutions by UHNWIs are: 

For settlors, PTCs provide the comfort of enhanced influence, while preserving the independence and lack of direct control essential to an effective trust structure. Family members may sit on the PTC’s board, offering governance oversight while ensuring fiduciary independence.

It enables an enhanced level of continuity in the UHNWI’s succession planning, beyond the appointment of trustees from time to time.  The PTC arguably provides longer-term stability across generations.

PTCs were created by the Act to exist as a variety of corporate trustee which, in contrast to the treatment by Gibraltar law and regulation of other forms of corporate trustee, can operate without requiring a full trust licence, provided they serve only a connected family group; and

Beyond the practical and legal advantages explored above, Gibraltar happens to offer these advantages in the context of a tax environment which operates to huge advantage for UHNWIs, their families and their businesses.

A Strategic Choice for UHNW Families

PTCs are being increasingly integrated into family office structures, offering a customisable and future-proofed approach to managing multi-generational wealth. Gibraltar’s trusted regulatory environment, common-law legal framework, and UK market access (unique to the Overseas Territories) make it a compelling jurisdiction for UHNW families seeking flexibility in trust structuring, without compromising on compliance and offering that degree of comfort they might require in order to commit to an international structuring plan.

By choosing a Gibraltar PTC, families can establish a bespoke structuring solution that blends control, regulatory certainty, and long-term legacy planning—an approach that continues to gain traction in the evolving world of international wealth structuring.

If you’re considering establishing a trust structure, reach out to one of the team at Hassans/Line Group for an initial, no-obligation discussion about how we might be able to help you and your family in securing your future and that of your family’s future generations.