Appleby has appointed senior funds and finance specialist, George Bashforth, as Head of Directorship Services for Appleby Trust (Cayman) Ltd.

The appointment is the second senior appointment announced in as many months for the firm’s burgeoning funds and finance practice, which spans both the trust company and the law firm.  It also comes hot on the heels of the firm’s announcement last month that funds and finance Partner Ian Gobin had joined the legal team in Cayman from Walkers.

George Bashforth, previously a Senior Vice President at MaplesFS, starts in the new post on Tuesday 2 April.  Bryan Hunter, Cayman Office Managing Partner, said:  “George’s appointment further underpins our growth strategy, and should send a strong signal to the market that we are a serious player in this dynamic market.”

Partner and Global Group Head of Fiduciary & Administration Services, Farah Ballands, added: “George is an important addition to our corporate services company.  Working closely with the legal experts in our finance and funds practice, he will also add further strength to our Cayman finance team.”

As well as having deep experience in providing director and trustee services to a wide range of investment fund structures, George also has extensive structured finance experience including CLOs, note programmes and repackagings. George will serve on a limited number of boards and will be responsible for building this aspect of the firms’ fiduciary business.

He said:  “It’s an exciting time to be joining Appleby.  The team here is taking big strides in the market and is becoming a force to be reckoned with. The combined experience of the team in the trust company and the law firm, including Structured Finance Head, Julian Black and Funds partner, Ian Gobin, is significant.  Perhaps more importantly, however, our depth of understanding of the CLO market means we are becoming the ‘go-to’ firm for this dynamic area of the structured finance market.”

Prior to joining Appleby, George Bashforth worked at Goldman Sachs International in London from 1997 to 2005.   He joined Maples Fiduciary Services in 2006 where he was, in his most recent role, a Senior Vice President in their Funds Fiduciary team, managing a portfolio of Investment Fund and Structured Finance directorships and a team of professionals and support staff.

He graduated with an MBA in Finance from CASS Business School in 2005, and received his undergraduate degree from the University of the West of England in 1996.  He is a member of the Cayman Islands Directors Association and a Certified Hedge Fund Professional.  He also holds the Accredited Director Designation from Chartered Secretaries Canada and is a Public Notary.

Appleby is one of the world’s largest provider of offshore legal, fiduciary and administration services. With an unparalleled presence in the key offshore jurisdictions of Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Mauritius, and Seychelles, the group offers advice on offshore law and also has offices in four international financial centres: London, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Zurich.

The Appleby Group has been ranked as one of the world’s largest providers of offshore legal services by partner numbers in The Lawyer’s 2013 Offshore Survey. In 2010 Appleby was named “Offshore Law Firm of the Year” in both the Legal Week and The Lawyer Awards; no other firm has ever received both accolades in the same year. With over 770 lawyers and professional specialists across the Group, Appleby delivers sophisticated, specialised services, primarily in the areas of Corporate and Commercial, Litigation and Insolvency, Private Client and Trusts and Property, and a broad range of fiduciary services.  The Group advises public and private companies, financial institutions, and high net worth individuals, working with them and their advisers to achieve practical solutions, whether in a single location or across multiple jurisdictions.