Global fiduciary and administrative services firm Estera has bought a Luxembourg-based corporate and trust services company.

Estera, formerly part of law firm Appleby, has taken over Headstart S.à.r.l, — a major step in the firm’s plans to expand into the European duchy, one of the world’s most important jurisdictions for funds and corporate services.

The acquisition will also expand the range of services offered by Estera.

Farah Ballands, CEO of Estera, said: ‘Headstart’s people and client focused culture is very similar to our own and I am delighted to welcome them to the team.

“The deal adds strength and depth to our existing service lines and expands our global footprint in a new jurisdiction with excellent growth opportunities.’

Ethan Levner, Estera Group head of corporate development added: “This acquisition is consistent with our strategy to build a world-class service provider to private equity and real estate funds, multinational corporates and individuals.

“Having a strong presence in Luxembourg is central to this and Headstart is well-positioned in the marketplace, having achieved much since its inception in 2009.

“We will continue to expand globally through the acquisition of like-minded firms that, in partnership, allow us to offer our combined client bases broad and deep expertise.”

Christophe Gaul, founder and managing director of Headstart S.à.r.l, said: ‘This is an exciting new chapter for our business and we are looking forward to working with Farah and the Estera team to build on the success we have already achieved in Luxembourg.

“For us it will remain business as usual — our clients will continue to receive the same personalised service from their existing client service teams, along with the added benefit of access to a new range of global services as part of the Estera group and considerable resources for further investment in the business.’

Headstart’s managing directors, Mr Gaul and Manuel Mouget, will continue to lead the business.

The company, whose clients include private equity and real estate firms, institutional clients, corporates and high net worth individuals, will rebrand to Estera in September.