Private equity solutions company Crestbridge has been granted a depositary licence by Luxembourg’s financial services regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (more commonly known as CSSF).
The new licence will enable Crestbridge to further expand its capabilities in supporting a growing number of fund managers in Europe.
Approval of its depositary licence follows Crestbridge S.A.'s fund administration licence in Luxembourg in 2019, which allowed the firm to provide a broad range of fund administration services.
The business also remains one of the only third-party management companies in Luxembourg to hold a European Venture Capital licence, which allows its venture capital clients quick access to European investors.
As part of Crestbridge’s commitment to technology, its new depositary services offering is underpinned by the fintech platform, Depowise — designed to improve accuracy and efficiency for clients, by mitigating risks inherent in manual processes.
Through its Luxembourg entities Crestbridge S.A. and Crestbridge Management Company S.A. the business offers fund administration, accounting, regulatory and governance solutions to specialised investment funds, investment funds in risk capital and alternative investment funds (AIF).
Kenneth Agu, head of depositary services Luxembourg at Crestbridge, says: “With this licence, we can now support our clients from around the world wishing to set-up a Luxembourg-based AIF with a fully compliant, tech-enabled depositary solution from Luxembourg."
Michael Johnson, group head of institutional services at Crestbridge, adds: “We are pleased to expand our client service proposition to include the provision of depositary services through Luxembourg to alternative investment funds operating inside the EU.”
“This is an excellent opportunity for clients and builds upon our existing depositary services offered by Simon Drewett and the London team. Kenneth has already brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to the team, and we look forward to the continued growth and evolution of our depositary services in Luxembourg under his leadership.”
