Offshore law firm Appleby has opened its latest office in Zurich, Switzerland, located in Bahnhofstrasse 52.

The Zurich office will be led by Jonathan Vanderkar, a partner in the firm, who has been a member of the Banking and Asset Finance Team in the firm's Corporate Commercial Practice Group.

Mr. Vanderkar has extensive experience in corporate lending, project finance, asset based lending, acquisition finance and securitisation transactions. His clients include HSBC, Barclays, Bank of America, Miramax, The Walt Disney Company and Paramount Pictures.

He joined Appleby in 2006 from Olswang in London where he specialised in banking and structured film financing.

The expansion into Zurich will enable Appleby to further extend the services it offers and will provide clients and contacts in Switzerland with greater access to the range of jurisdictions in which Appleby operates.

The Zurich office will continue Appleby's focus in high growth international corporate and private wealth markets, providing private banks, wealth management and other institutions, as well as European, Middle Eastern and Asian based clients whose funds are managed in Switzerland, with direct access to high level offshore services.

On the corporate side the office will focus on the insurance and funds sectors to provide direct access to the firm's specialist expertise in the Bermuda, Cayman, Mauritius, Jersey and BVI markets.

"We are very pleased with this development ," added Shaun Morris, managing partner of the Bermuda office. "The new Zurich office will provide our corporate, institutional and private clients with greater resources and a broader choice across the key offshore jurisdictions to suit their needs.

"We believe that the move will reinforce Appleby's position as the first choice for clients investing in or through the offshore sector."