Crestbridge is to acquire New Jersey based Ovation Fund Services, a provider of fund administration, accounting and reporting services to US domestic private equity and real estate funds. The acquisition complements Crestbridge’s core service offering in both asset classes.
Ovation will become part of the Crestbridge brand from 31 December 2020 and is the business’ seventh office. All Ovation employees will become members of the global Crestbridge team, ensuring continuity of client service and working with the wider Crestbridge Group to continue to grow and develop the current services offering.
The acquisition substantially expands Crestbridge’s presence in the US, where it already has an office in New York, and its ability to service private equity and real estate funds. It also enhances the multi-jurisdiction proposition to its client base as the new office complements Crestbridge’s existing network of offices in London, Luxembourg, Bahrain, the Cayman Islands, New York and Jersey (Channel Islands), providing access to its international team of experts for North American clients.
Paul Perris, Chief Commercial Officer of the Crestbridge Group, says: “This is another significant achievement in delivering our global expansion strategy and widening access to our solutions for private equity and real estate fund managers. In particular, this provides North American based clients access to European investment markets and turnkey solutions, which continues to be an increasingly strong trend, as well as supporting inward investment into North America. We are very much looking forward to supporting our global client base and helping facilitate their continued success.”
The New Jersey office will be headed by Scot Hadley, Ovation’s founder, who has over 23 years’ experience growing businesses and building long-term relationships within the private equity and real estate industry in the US and beyond. Hadley established Ovation nearly four years ago, building a successful business with a loyal customer base. Prior to establishing Ovation, Hadley spent 18 years of his career at Paladin Realty Partners, an institutional real estate fund manager, where he was one of ten founding members of the firm.
Hadley commented: “We believe that bringing the quality and breadth of Crestbridge’s global capabilities together with our focus on the US markets is very attractive to current and prospective clients. Access to a global team with the same high standards as ours will be a huge benefit and we’re excited by the opportunities.”
The office is based in Morristown, New Jersey. The financial terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed.
This latest acquisition in North America also follows the announcement of ‘Crestbridge Fiduciary LLC’, created to better support families with US-based interests. This joint venture with Wyoming-based Willow Street was formed in response to exceptional client demand for Family Office Services and consolidates Crestbridge’s global expertise with Willow Street’s in-depth trust and fiduciary capability and high-calibre client base.
