JTC Group launches escrow services

Friday 07 March 2014

JTC Group has launched a new service for global public and private companies.

Designed to complement the existing range of international corporate services, the new escrow services, where assets and funds can be held independently and safely during a transaction, will also help clients to mitigate financial risk, particularly when a transaction may involve one or more parties located in different jurisdictions. They also provide an enhanced level of speed, accuracy and security.

The Group Head of Corporate Services at JTC Group, Stuart Pinnington, said: “Historically law firms have held clients’ funds on account for a particular transaction. However, due to increasing risks in the modern global corporate environment and shifting client requirements, using an expert escrow agent is becoming increasingly preferable.

“Managing risk is highly important for companies when closing transactions. With JTC Group spanning such a broad number of jurisdictions, we have worked to ensure we have the right expertise to administer all types of escrow agreements, regardless of complexity, which can be seamlessly coordinated with our other services.”

An escrow agreement can cover a range of different types of risk, including:

• Counterparty risk, where one party is concerned that the other party will be unable to meet its obligations and funds can be held in escrow until one or both parties meet certain conditions

• Price risk, where there is difficulty in valuing an asset and the price differential can be held in escrow until actual performance can be measured; and

• Execution risk, where parties wish for a transaction to be executed according to a pre-agreed sequence of events and funds can be held in escrow and released in an appropriate sequence.

The new services have been launched in order to meet the needs of companies undertaking transactions in an increasingly complex and sophisticated environment.