FAQ

We work with three principal communities: founders and owner-managed operating businesses with cross-border complexity; private high-net-worth families and family offices; and a defined set of regulated intermediaries (private bankers, family-office advisors and counsel) who refer specialist work to us. Most engagements involve clients with assets, residency or operations across two or more jurisdictions.

HPT Group is an independent advisory consultancy. We are not a licensed Trust or Company Service Provider, banking institution, fund administrator, immigration agent or regulated investment adviser in any jurisdiction. Where an engagement requires a regulated counterparty (a TCSP, trustee, bank, licensed local agent or fund administrator), we identify, brief and coordinate that party. The regulated work is performed under their own authorisation and named clearly in every engagement letter.

We provide cross-border tax structuring advice and we coordinate with local tax counsel in the client's home jurisdiction. We do not file home-country tax returns. Where required, local counsel signs off on the home-country tax position before any structure is implemented.

A senior adviser leads each matter and stays on it from the first call to the written advice. The firm is sized so that this remains possible, and we take on work accordingly.

Our headquarters is in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. We also have an office in Mayfair, London. Meetings are held by video, and in-person meetings can be arranged at the client's request.

Will Hodgson (Managing Director, Hong Kong) leads structuring, family office and private client work. Gabriel Pincus (Managing Director, New York) leads finance, compliance and US matters. Jack Burgess (Chief Operating Officer, Hong Kong) runs operations. Suzette Watson (Account Manager, Hong Kong) manages client accounts. Ian Gobin (Legal Counsel, Guernsey) is legal counsel to the firm. Jordan Onraet-Wells (Chartered Tax Adviser, London) leads UK tax work. The full team is on our About page.

Yes, with US-specialist co-counsel. We coordinate with US tax counsel before designing any structure where a US person is a settlor, beneficiary, director, shareholder or signatory. US filings (5471, 8938, FBAR, 3520, 3520-A) are filed by the client's US accountant, with structuring papers prepared by HPT to support those filings. If you do not yet have a US accountant, we can introduce you to a US-based CPA experienced in international reporting.

Our written work product is in English. Client meetings and informal communication can be conducted in English, Cantonese and Mandarin in Hong Kong, and in English, French and Russian through our external counsel network.

No. We screen every prospective client against UN, OFAC, EU, HMT, UK and HKMA sanctions lists at intake. We will not act for sanctioned individuals or entities, designated PEPs without elevated EDD, or matters with a connection to sanctioned jurisdictions. We decline work in writing when a sanctions concern arises.

Two routes: complete the form at /apply, or write directly to enquiries@hpt.group. A senior adviser reviews every submission. We aim to reply within 48 hours. The reply comes either with a fit assessment and an estimated fee, or with a referral if your matter is outside our scope.

Every engagement begins with a written fee proposal before any work starts. A single-issue diagnosis starts from £1,500. A full structuring blueprint starts from £9,400. Implementation starts from £15,600, and family office retainers from £8,300 a month. Company formation and renewal fees include the standard government fees. Other third-party costs, such as local counsel or programme government contributions, are additional and are set out separately in the fee proposal. Our full starting prices are on the Fees page.

No. We price each stage of the work, not the hours spent on it. If the work grows, we agree the new scope and fee with you before we continue.

We pause, send you a revised quote, and continue only once you accept it. The revised quote is free, and nothing is added without your agreement.

Every engagement is different. A focused question can be answered in a few days; a full structure can take several months. As a guide, a diagnosis is typically delivered within 5 to 10+ business days of the engagement letter and a full structuring blueprint takes 3 to 6+ weeks. End-to-end implementation, including company formations, banking onboarding and counterparty appointments, generally takes 60 to 120+ days. Banks, registries and regulators set much of the pace, so we give you a timetable for your matter at the outset and tell you when it moves.

Yes. Family-office retainers are scoped on engagement with a 12-month minimum term, covering ongoing senior adviser access, periodic structure reviews and coordination of counterparty workstreams. Quarterly billing is the standard cadence, with quarterly written reporting on activity and material developments.

Scope (what is included, what is not), deliverables, timeline, total fee and payment milestones, the senior adviser leading the matter, the counterparties to be appointed, the agreed communication channels, confidentiality and a clear termination provision. The letter is signed by both parties before any work starts.

Diagnosis fees are payable in full on engagement. Larger engagements (blueprint, implementation) are payable against milestones documented in the engagement letter: typically a deposit, an interim milestone and a balance on delivery. We accept GBP, EUR, USD, HKD and SGD payments.

Yes. The engagement letter sets out the cancellation provisions, including the fee due for work already completed and the return of unused retainer balances. We do not lock clients into engagements where the relationship is not working.

Fees are tied to deliverables, and the engagement letter sets out what each fee covers and what happens if a deliverable cannot be produced. We agree those terms in writing before work begins.

Eighteen service areas across two practices. Corporate Services covers offshore and onshore company formation, corporate structuring, investment funds, banking, fintech and iGaming licensing, fiduciary coordination, payment cards, yacht and aircraft registration, deal and exit structuring and crypto. Private Clients covers family office advisory, trusts and foundations, citizenship and residence by investment, tax residency planning, private banking introductions and gold custody.

Yes. Formation itself is a small step in a structuring engagement, and we always place formation in the context of the wider structure. The company is formed by a licensed local agent we work with; HPT prepares the structuring memorandum, instructions to the agent and the supporting documents.

Yes. We introduce clients to a panel of 45+ active corporate and private banks across the UK, EU, GCC, APAC, Caribbean and US. We pre-qualify the structure against the bank's appetite before any name is mentioned, and introductions go to a named relationship manager rather than the central onboarding queue.

HPT does not act as a director, trustee or nominee shareholder. Where the engagement requires an independent director, trustee or compliance officer, we identify and place the appointment with a licensed local provider, and we manage the relationship for the duration of the engagement.

Yes. A full implementation typically includes structuring memorandum, formations, director and trustee appointments through licensed counterparties, banking onboarding, substance setup, accounting and compliance, and ongoing oversight. The engagement letter scopes which elements are direct HPT deliverables and which are coordinated through counterparties.

We model the home-country position in the diagnosis and coordinate with local tax counsel for the formal sign-off. For substantial matters (UK, US, EU, UAE, Singapore, HK), we have a panel of local counsel we work with regularly. The home-country tax letter accompanies the structure as a deliverable.

Yes, for family offices typically up to USD 200M AUM. Above that, we design and stand up an in-house family office for you, recruiting the team and operationalising the systems, then transition to an advisory role. The retainer model is scoped on engagement.

Year-one statutory compliance is included on most formations (annual returns, registered office, BO register filings). Bookkeeping, statutory accounts and tax returns are scoped as a separate retainer through our accountancy panel, coordinated by HPT but delivered by a licensed local accountant.

60+ jurisdictions across six continents, including BVI, Cayman, Bahamas, Bermuda, Barbados, St Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, Belize, Panama, UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malta, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Ireland, Netherlands, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Seychelles, Labuan, Vanuatu and the major onshore jurisdictions (UK, US, Australia, Canada, Switzerland and most of the EU).

The choice is driven by the question the structure is trying to answer: treaty access, banking acceptance, tax efficiency, substance feasibility, beneficiary residency and the home-country tax position. The jurisdiction is the answer, not the starting point. The diagnosis maps the actual choice against three or four shortlisted jurisdictions.

The EU non-cooperative list and the FATF grey list are the two reference points. Both are monitored quarterly and modelled in every diagnosis. We do not recommend structures in jurisdictions on those lists where the listing materially affects banking, treaty access or audit defensibility.

Grey-listing is workable but consequential. Banks become more selective, EDD becomes heavier and treaty access becomes harder to evidence. We continue to advise on grey-listed jurisdictions where the substance and reporting position is genuinely defensible, but we tell clients in writing when the grey-list status will narrow their options.

Yes. Offshore structures are themselves never the question. Whether they are reported, substantiated and tax-resident correctly is the question. Every structure we design is built to be read by your banker, your auditor and your home tax authority. We design for transparency, not opacity.

Yes. Holdco-Opco architectures, UK Ltd companies, Delaware LLCs, Singapore Pte Ltds, Cyprus holding companies, Luxembourg SOPARFI, Irish trading companies and Dutch BVs are all routinely deployed alongside offshore elements where appropriate.

A simple formation is one entity. A defensible operating structure is typically three to seven entities across two to five jurisdictions, accommodating holding, IP, operating, and (where relevant) trust and asset-protection layers. The diagnosis sets the right entity count for your matter.

Yes, with planning. We model an indicative wind-up path during the diagnosis so the structure is built to be unwound cleanly if circumstances change. Most structures can be liquidated, redomiciled or merged without leaking value, provided the wind-up is planned at the design stage and the tax position is modelled before each step.

Yes, but only with the right introducer and the right structure. We pre-qualify the structure against our bank panel before formation, and introductions are made to named relationship managers with the file pre-prepared.

Our active corporate banking panel includes 45+ institutions across the UK, EU, GCC, APAC, Caribbean and US. Our private-banking introduction panel covers tier-one houses across Singapore, Hong Kong, Monaco, Switzerland, London, Liechtenstein, Panama and Andorra. The full list is shared with engaged clients.

EMIs hold client funds with a custodian bank under segregated-account rules; they do not lend, and their licence scope is narrower. They are well-suited to operating businesses needing multi-currency rails. Traditional banks offer the full credit, custody, foreign-exchange and Lombard suite. Most modern structures use both: an EMI for operations and a private bank for wealth.

Most tier-one private banks ask for at least $1M to open and $3M–$5M to access the full advisory and discretionary services. Some Swiss and Liechtenstein houses publish higher floors. We will tell you in writing which banks fit your number before any introduction is made.

Yes. Private banking introductions are a defined HPT service. We work with tier-one private banks across Singapore, Hong Kong, Monaco, Switzerland, London, Liechtenstein, Panama and Andorra, on the personal side for individuals and families and on the corporate side for the operating companies they own.

At times. Any fees payable to HPT are disclosed to each client before agreements are signed.

EMIs: 1 to 4+ weeks. Traditional corporate accounts: 4 to 10+ weeks. Private banking: 6 to 12+ weeks. Timelines depend principally on the speed at which the client provides source-of-funds documentation, not on the bank's internal processing.

We re-place the file with the next-best-fit bank from the panel at no additional fee. Pre-qualification is designed to make declines rare; when they happen, the cause is usually new source-of-funds information that emerged during the bank's review, not a fundamental structural issue.

Almost always for residents of CFC jurisdictions (UK, US, most of Europe, increasingly the GCC). CFC rules attribute the foreign company's income back to the domestic shareholder. We review CFC exposure in every diagnosis and set out how the rules apply to the proposed structure, including whether any exemption is available.

Both are mandatory and unavoidable for in-scope accounts. We design every structure so the reporting is clean and predictable: the home tax authority sees what they expect to see, and there are no surprises. Treating reporting as a problem rather than a planning input is the most common error in mediocre offshore advice.

Only if it is designed badly. Substance is non-negotiable for any structure that needs treaty access, banking acceptance or audit defensibility. We model substance requirements (directors on the ground, premises, employees, decision-making location, expense profile) in the blueprint and budget for them in the implementation cost.

Yes, in the diagnosis. For substantial matters we coordinate with local tax counsel in your home jurisdiction for formal sign-off. The home-country tax letter accompanies the structure as a deliverable and can be shared with your home accountant and counsel.

Pillar Two applies to multinational groups with consolidated annual revenue over €750M. Most HPT clients are under the threshold. Where a client is in scope, we model the GloBE calculation, the QDMTT in each jurisdiction and the practical impact on the effective tax rate.

No, and we will not design to that brief. The honest position in 2026 is that any structure built for invisibility will fail. We design for visibility: structures that report correctly, hold up under audit, and accept that the home tax authority will see them.

If it should be, yes. Reportable structures (most cross-border ones) are reported under CRS, FATCA, DAC6, DAC8 and the home-country equivalents. We design for that reporting from day one rather than work around it. The structures we recommend assume full disclosure.

The historic non-dom regime ended on 5 April 2025 and was replaced by the four-year Foreign Income and Gains regime for new UK residents, plus a long-term-resident IHT test that displaced deemed domicile. The planning for existing UK non-doms now sits in the structural layer (trust restructuring, asset rebasing, residency-shift modelling) rather than in claiming the old basis.

Yes, across government-approved citizenship-by-investment programmes spanning the Caribbean (St Kitts, Dominica, Antigua, St Lucia, Grenada), Europe and the Middle East (Austria, Türkiye, Jordan) and the Pacific (Vanuatu, Nauru). Every application is filed through the licensed local agent in the granting state; HPT designs the strategy, prepares the source-of-funds pack and manages the process end-to-end.

It depends on the client's primary objective. Visa-free travel breadth, family-inclusion economics, processing speed, due-diligence rigour, tax-interaction with home country and post-acquisition residency obligations all weigh differently for different clients. The diagnosis ranks two or three shortlisted programmes for your specific case.

Processing times in 2026 range from approximately 60 days (Vanuatu) to 18 months or more (Austria). Caribbean programmes are typically 4 to 6+ months from filing. Total elapsed time from initial enquiry to passport in hand is usually 6 to 9+ months once the source-of-funds pack is complete.

Yes. The major programmes allow spouse, dependent children and (in most cases) dependent parents and adult unmarried siblings to be included, subject to programme-specific age and dependency rules. We model the family-inclusion economics in the diagnosis as cost-per-passport.

Not for any of the CBI programmes we work with. All permit dual citizenship. Your home-country position may differ; some jurisdictions (most notably parts of east Asia) restrict dual citizenship. The diagnosis covers the home-side position before any application is filed.

The Caribbean programmes retain visa-free access to the Schengen area in 2026, and most also to the UK. Dominica lost UK visa-free access in July 2023, and Vanuatu lost both UK and Schengen access. Access can change, so we track the EU and UK positions quarterly and flag changes to current clients. Visa-free reach for any specific programme is documented in the diagnosis.

We advise on residence-by-investment programmes including Portugal (post-NHR), Greece, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, UAE Golden Visa, Singapore GIP, Switzerland (forfait), the US EB-5 and Caribbean residency. RBI work tends to overlap with tax-residency planning, which we handle in parallel.

Citizenship does not equal tax residency. Holding a second passport changes nothing about your tax position unless you also relocate your tax residency or restructure your asset base. We make this distinction explicit in every mobility engagement and model the tax-residency position alongside the citizenship application.

Not always. Trusts add a layer of cost, complexity and reporting. We recommend a trust when one or more of the following applies: a credible asset-protection threat, multi-generational succession requirements, forced-heirship avoidance, charitable-giving infrastructure, or beneficiary protection (minors, the vulnerable, contentious situations). Where a corporate-only structure does the job, we say so.

Common-law clients (UK, US, Hong Kong, BVI) generally find trusts more familiar and operationally cleaner. Civil-law clients (continental Europe, Latin America, GCC) generally find foundations more familiar and easier to defend at home. Both can achieve the same outcomes. The diagnosis recommends the right vehicle for your home jurisdiction and family situation.

Cook Islands and Nevis remain the two leading asset-protection venues for offshore-trust planning, distinguished by short statutes of limitations for fraudulent-transfer claims, high evidentiary bars (clear-and-convincing in Cook Islands), and a track record of refusing to enforce foreign judgments. BVI VISTA trusts and Cayman STAR trusts serve different but related purposes.

It depends on timing, jurisdiction and how the trust has been run. Courts can set aside transfers made to defeat known or foreseeable claims, and matrimonial courts in many jurisdictions have wide powers over trust assets. We explain these risks as part of the advice. We do not set up structures to defeat existing or expected claims.

The trustee is the legal owner of the assets and has fiduciary duty to administer the trust on the terms of the deed. The settlor can retain specified powers (investment direction, protector-appointment, distribution wishes) without invalidating the trust, particularly under reserved-power statutes in BVI, Cayman, Jersey and Nevis. The diagnosis sets the right balance for your matter.

A protector is a person or committee with specified reserved powers under the trust deed, typically the power to remove and replace trustees, veto specified actions, or amend administrative provisions. Protectors are used to balance settlor intent with trustee discretion. The protector's powers are written into the deed and can be tightly defined.

Drafting and execution of a standard discretionary trust takes 2 to 4+ weeks once the trustee due diligence is complete. Funding the trust (asset transfers, share re-registrations, real-estate conveyancing) typically takes a further 4 to 12+ weeks depending on the asset mix. The trust is operational from execution; funding is the second step.

Yes, if the trust is a reportable financial institution under CRS, which most offshore trusts are. The trust's reportable controlling persons (typically the settlor, beneficiaries with vested interests, the protector and the trustee) are reported to their respective tax authorities annually. We design the structure with reporting in mind.

Yes, through licensed VASPs (under MiCA in the EU, VARA in Dubai, MAS in Singapore, FSA in Mauritius), foundations (Cayman, Panama) and DAO-LLC hybrids (Wyoming, Marshall Islands). Every structure is designed with DAC8, MiCA and CARF reporting visibility from day one. Self-custody is supported alongside the regulated layer.

Cayman, BVI, Dubai (VARA), Singapore (MAS), Mauritius (FSC), Lithuania, Malta (MFSA), Estonia and El Salvador are the most-used venues in 2026. The choice depends on your target customer base, capital position, banking access and the speed at which you need to be operational. The diagnosis ranks two or three shortlisted regimes for your specific case.

We advise on EMI, PSP, SPI and MSB licensing across the UK (FCA), Lithuania, Malta (MFSA), Cyprus (CySEC), Luxembourg (CSSF), Ireland (CBI), Estonia, Netherlands (DNB), Germany (BaFin) and the US (FinCEN and state MTLs). Realistic timelines range from 6+ months (Lithuania) to 14+ months (UK FCA). Banking pre-qualification is essential and is built into every application we support.

DAC8 entered into force on 1 January 2026 and brings crypto-asset service providers into the EU automatic-exchange framework, with first reporting in 2027. CASP-registered entities serving EU clients must collect and report customer-level data. We assess every existing crypto structure for DAC8 compatibility and re-engineer where reporting paths are weak.

Yes, for any regulated payment, EMI, PSP, VASP or fund-administration entity. The MLRO is a senior personal-liability role, typically the second statutory officer of a regulated firm. We design the role, draft the appointment and place the appointment with a licensed local provider; HPT does not hold MLRO appointments directly because HPT is not a regulated entity.

Yes. The MGA (Malta), Curaçao (post-2024 reform), Isle of Man, Anjouan, Gibraltar, Kahnawake and Tobique programmes are routinely deployed. The harder problem in iGaming is always banking and PSP placement, where most operators discover that a licence on paper does not translate into a working merchant account. We pre-qualify the structure against our banking and PSP panels before any application is filed.

Client information is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest under ISO/IEC 27001-aligned controls. Access is restricted to engaged advisers and named support staff on a need-to-know basis. Working papers and engagement files are retained for thirty years under our internal records policy.

Only as required to deliver the engagement and only with parties named in the engagement letter, typically the licensed counterparties we are coordinating (banks, trustees, formation agents, counsel). We do not share information with the firm's other clients, partners or third parties for any commercial purpose. Marketing-list inclusion is opt-in only.

Yes. We will sign your mutual NDA before any substantive discussion. Where you prefer, our standard engagement letter contains a confidentiality clause that is broadly equivalent to a stand-alone NDA, with mutual obligations and a defined survival period.

On encrypted, ISO/IEC 27001-aligned infrastructure in Hong Kong and the European Economic Area, with no client data stored on individual devices. Backups are encrypted at rest in a second jurisdiction. Specific data-residency requirements (e.g. UAE, KSA) can be accommodated on engagement.

Engagement working papers, engagement letters, structuring memoranda and supporting evidence are retained for thirty years. Personal data not directly required for the engagement record is retained only for the duration of the engagement plus seven years, unless statutory retention obligations apply. The full retention schedule is set out in the Privacy Policy.

If the structure includes an entity in a jurisdiction with a public BO register (UK, EU member states, and an increasing number of others), your beneficial-ownership data will be filed and may be publicly accessible. We document the BO position for every recommended structure and flag where public access materially affects the planning. Access rules differ by jurisdiction, and we explain who can see the filing before a structure is chosen.