The transaction reflects Opera’s continued strategic evolution and long-term focus on specialist private wealth, private capital and institutional expertise.
Over the past two years, Opera has deliberately brought together businesses with deep expertise across private client, corporate and fund services as part of Project Overture, its five-year strategic growth plan focused on building an intelligent, values-led financial services group.
Oak Fund Services in Guernsey is a high-quality business, and Highvern & Permian provide the right home for its clients and people as Opera sharpens its focus on specialist private wealth, private capital and institutional expertise.
The transaction positions Oak Fund Services for its next phase of growth, supported by Highvern & Permian’s scale, international reach and continued investment in broad fund services, while enabling both businesses to pursue their respective long-term strategic priorities with greater focus and clarity.
Opera remains highly committed to delivering specialist private wealth, fund and corporate services across the group. One area of particular focus is building capability across the entire spectrum of the innovation economy, where Opera sees long-term opportunity in supporting founders, high-growth businesses, growth and pre-IPO fund services. Working with capital allocators ranging from private offices and entrepreneurial investors through to institutional and sovereign structures.
Through businesses including HFL and Oak Jersey Funds, Opera continues to support entrepreneurial and founder-led capital, venture and growth-focused investment structures, internationally connected families and investors and increasingly sophisticated cross-border private capital relationships.
Commenting on the announcement, Kim Sgarlata, Group CEO and Executive Director of Opera, said:
“This transaction reflects the continued evolution of Opera’s long-term focus and positioning.
We are building a specialist business by design. Our ambition is not to become a volume operator or all things to all people. It is to build depth in areas where relationships, expertise and long-term thinking genuinely matter.
That includes sophisticated international families and family offices, the continued growth of private capital, and increasingly the space where those worlds intersect.
Families are becoming investors. Founders are becoming principals. Private capital is becoming more international, connected and complex. That shift creates significant opportunity for businesses able to operate across those worlds thoughtfully and credibly.
So, when we talk about the growth of Opera, we are talking about focused growth. Building depth of capability, depth of relationships and depth of expertise in the areas where we believe the strongest long-term opportunities exist.”
Matt Westgarth-Smith, Managing Director of HFL, Group Head of Institutional and Executive Director at Opera, added:
“Increasingly, we are supporting managers, investors and entrepreneurial capital across a wider range of growth-focused and internationally connected investment structures.
Our ambition is to build a platform recognised for the quality of its relationships, commercial understanding and specialist expertise across innovative private capital.
We want clients to work with us because we understand the complexity of their world, because we support them as they grow and because we build long-term partnerships grounded in thoughtful service and deep sector understanding.”
James Tracey, Managing Director of Oak Fund Services Guernsey, said:
“Oak Fund Services in Guernsey has built a strong reputation through long-standing client relationships, technical expertise and the quality of its people.
This transaction reflects the strength of the business and creates an opportunity for Oak Fund Services to continue developing within an environment aligned to its operating model and long-term priorities.
Throughout this process, our focus remains firmly on our clients, our people and maintaining the high standards of service, responsiveness and professionalism our clients expect from us.”
The proposed transaction does not affect the broader Opera group structure or its continued investment in private client, private capital and institutional capabilities across its portfolio businesses.
Clients across the wider group will continue to receive the same day-to-day service, relationships and support they do today, with continuity and stability remaining a core priority throughout the process.
Opera continues to operate under its long-term ownership model backed by aligned family office capital, including Pula, the family office of Stephen Lansdown CBE, and Sealyham, the family office of Tom Scott. This ownership structure enables the group to invest with a long-term perspective focused on people, relationships and sustainable growth.
For more information on Opera, please visit: www.operalimited.com
