Summit Group
Summit Group is a leading independent fiduciary and administrative services group. They specialise in providing tailored solutions that help their clients grow, protect and pass on their wealth and navigate an increasingly complex world. Sovereign has been supporting the business since 2020 through a strategy of Buy & Build to expand Summit Group’s range of services and geographical footprint.
Sector
Financial services and insurance
Status
Current
Investment Date
2020
Location
Jersey, Guernsey, Switzerland, Cayman Islands, United Kingdom, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia
Buy & Build
5
Investment background
Sovereign first became involved in what is now known as Summit Group in December 2020 when it backed the MBO of Aquitaine Group Ltd, a Guernsey-based private client trust and corporate services provider.
Aquitaine was established in 2008 and quickly built up a strong reputation for providing fiduciary and corporate services to ultra-high-net-worth individuals. This is a highly fragmented market, and both Aquitaine’s management team and Sovereign identified a significant opportunity to establish a leading multi-jurisdictional fiduciary business.
The story so far
Expanded the Group's range of services and global footprintAppointed a new CEO, Matt Claxton, former Global Head of Corporate and Private Client Solutions at Apex Group, to succeed founder Adrian PickeringRecruited Andrew Fisher, former CEO of Coutts & Co and CEO of Towry Group, as Non-Executive ChairFurther strengthened the management team with the hire of a CFO, CTO and CROInvested in new technology to enhance Summit Group's capability to work with multi-jurisdictional clientsSupported the creation of a new corporate brand and identityOur specialist research team continuously identifies strategic acquisition opportunities across global markets. Following our investment in Aquitaine, we quickly recognized Summit Trust International as an ideal partner and acquired Federal Trust to strengthen Aquitaine's Guernsey operations - both transactions completed in 2021.
This acquisition strategy continued with Jersey-based Garfield-Bennett joining the Group in 2023, followed by Dubai-headquartered Sanctuary in January 2024. Most recently, Summit acquired R&H Jersey in July 2025, further strengthening our Channel Islands presence and creating a scalable Jersey fund services platform.
These strategic acquisitions have expanded Summit Group's global footprint to include offices in Jersey, Guernsey, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, the United Kingdom, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Saudi Arabia, with planned expansion into additional key jurisdictions.
We have also supported the leadership team, facilitating the appointments of a Non-Executive Chair, Group CFO, CTO, and CRO. We oversaw a comprehensive succession plan that saw founder CEO Adrian Pickering transition to a Non-Executive Director role, while Matt Claxton - former Global Head of Corporate and Private Client Solutions at Apex Group and CEO of Corporate and Private Clients at Link Asset Services and Capita - assumed the CEO position in November 2022.
Beyond leadership changes, there has also been significant investment into a new company-wide software system to further develop its ability to work with clients across the world, and in 2023 a unified Summit Group corporate identity was launched.
Sovereign is a very supportive partner. We have a close relationship that is based on shared values and a genuine partnership. Sovereign’s continued investment will enable Summit Group to achieve its ambition of becoming one of the leading fiduciary businesses, via expansion into new jurisdictions and continued investment in systems and organisational capability.
