2025 has been a year of growth, innovation, and success for Saffery Trust, defined by strategic expansion, new leadership, recognition for client service excellence, and our commitment to our people and communities.
Saffery Trust Managing Director Nick Batiste, Switzerland Managing Director Paul Tucknott, Dubai Managing Director Fred Ragno, UK Managing Director Dominic Lawton-Smith, Guernsey Director Lisa Vizia, and Cayman Director Lee Hart share their reflections on a landmark year for Saffery Trust.
Cayman Islands
With 2025 marking five years since Saffery Trust established its Cayman Islands presence, the team has continued to strengthen its local leadership with the appointments of Director Lauretta Bennett and Compliance Associate Director Jessica Turnbull. The creation of Jessica’s role represented a strategic move to bring risk and compliance functions in-house, reinforcing our long-term commitment to governance excellence and a lasting presence in the region.
Lee Hart and Andrew Needham were also recognised among the industry’s leading professionals this year – with Lee named in the Private Client Global Elite Directory and Andrew featured in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide – reflecting the exceptional calibre and reputation of our Cayman team.
Senior leaders across Saffery Trust including Nick Batiste, Lisa Vizia, Claire Bufton, Judith Chatoo and Jamie Lane – Liaison Partner, Saffery LLP – visited our Cayman team throughout the year to reinforce our year-round presence and provide support consistent with our “one firm” approach.
Lee Hart said: “Saffery Trust continued to go from strength to strength in the Cayman Islands. We’ve focused on building a team with deep local expertise, backed by the strength and resources of the wider Saffery Trust offices. Our growth here reflects not only the quality of our people but also the confidence clients place in Saffery Trust to deliver thoughtful, long-term solutions tailored to their needs.”
Dubai
2025 saw a significant leadership transition for Saffery Trust in Dubai, with the appointment of Fred Ragno as Managing Director for the Dubai office. Bringing more than 15 years of experience working with ultra-high-net-worth families across the Middle East, Fred is ideally positioned to strengthen regional relationships and facilitate connections with our other offices, drawing on first-hand experience of delivering the personal service that defines Saffery Trust.
With over 50 years of combined experience supporting Middle Eastern private clients, Lisa and Judith represented Saffery Trust at the Private Client Exchange Middle East in October. Judith shared her expertise as a speaker on the topic “Next Gen Advisory: Evolving the Conversation in a Changing Gulf”, exploring the expectations, values, and shifting priorities of the next generation of clients across the region. Lisa also took part in meaningful discussions and engaged with leading professionals, strengthening our intermediary relationships.
Fred said: “It’s an incredibly exciting time for Saffery Trust in Dubai. The Middle East continues to evolve rapidly, with a growing focus on succession, governance, and purpose-driven wealth. As we look to the future, I’m eager to build on the strong foundations already in place, deepening our relationships, expanding our regional footprint, and continuing to provide the exceptional, personal service our clients expect.”
Guernsey
Our Guernsey office – established in 1977 – continued to exemplify its strong culture and commitment to developing talent throughout 2025. We celebrated 19 long-service awards, highlighting our exceptional retention and loyalty.
In recognition of their outstanding contributions to the firm, six senior leaders were promoted to Director-level positions, alongside several other promotions, reinforcing our ongoing commitment to recognising and rewarding excellence.
We also continued to invest in the next generation of professionals through the return of our summer internship programme, and celebrating exam successes for our team members.
2025 was also a standout year for our corporate social responsibility activities, as the Saffery Rotary Walk – of which we are the main sponsor – celebrated another record-breaking event.
Lisa Vizia said: “Our success has always been driven by the strength of our people, their dedication, collaboration, and genuine care for clients and colleagues alike. It’s been inspiring to see new generations grow within the Guernsey office this year, and celebrate achievements together, while we continue to give back to our local community.”
Switzerland
This year, our Swiss offices in Geneva and Zurich were re-certified by following a firmwide survey that recognised the positive, people-centred culture we’ve built, one grounded in trust, collaboration, and respect.
Among several well-deserved promotions in the region, and once again featured in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide, reflecting his leadership and respected standing within the international wealth management community.
Our Swiss colleagues also demonstrated Saffery Trust’s “one firm” ethos, joining the Guernsey team at the STEP Private Client Awards and even taking part in the 2025 Saffery Rotary Walk, reflecting of our shared values and commitment across jurisdictions.
We also built on the progress of our 2024 Sustainability and ESG Maturity assessment by progressing plans to undertake a Double Materiality Assessment, to consider both financial and non-financial perspectives, how sustainability issues impact our organisation, and how our organisation impacts the world around us.
Paul Tucknott said: “2025 has been a year of real momentum for our Swiss offices. Our Great Place to Work certification highlights the strength and engagement of our teams, while our progress on sustainability and governance demonstrates our forward-looking approach as a business. We’re proud to see our people recognised both within the firm and across the wider industry, and we look forward to building on this success in the years ahead.”
United Kingdom
The launch of our dedicated UK service offering this year marks an important milestone, bringing over fifty years of international expertise to a domestic market. We also strengthened our UK team with the appointment of Jordan Sewery, whose combined international and UK trust and corporate services experience enhances our ability to deliver tailored solutions for clients.
Dominic Lawton-Smith retained his status as a leading advisor in the 2025 Spear’s Tax and Trust Indices and represented Saffery Trust at the STEP Asia Conference in October.
Dominic said: “This has been an exciting year of progress for our UK team. Our launch has opened new opportunities to work even more closely with clients and their advisors, supported by the depth of expertise across our global network. Looking ahead, our priority is to continue building a strong foundation for sustainable growth and delivering exceptional outcomes for those who place their trust in us.”
Firmwide success
Alongside the achievements of our individual offices, Saffery Trust as a whole has continued to demonstrate strong performance and unity throughout 2025.
From winning back-to-back ‘Trust Company of the Year’ titles at both the STEP Private Client Awards and the eprivateclient Excellence Awards, to being re-accredited as a STEP Platinum Employer for the tenth consecutive year, becoming Cyber Essentials certified, and retaining our top-tier status with Chambers and Partners and eprivateclient, 2025 has strengthened our position as a leading private client service provider.
With a deep dedication to doing the right thing for our clients, people, communities, and the environment, we published our first Responsible Business Report. The report details our charitable contributions, staff and public sponsorships, and green initiatives through the year ended 31 March 2025.
We also reaffirmed our commitment to supporting our people with the launch of ‘Vivabalance’, our dedicated employee wellbeing brand designed to support mental, physical, social, and financial wellbeing across all our offices.
In addition to Switzerland being re-certified by Great Place to Work Switzerland, our offices in Guernsey, Cayman, the UK and Dubai also achieved certification under the global Great Place to Work programme, demonstrating our status as a firm where positive culture, engagement and employee experience are prioritised across all jurisdictions.
Nick Batiste said: “This year has been one of exceptional progress and collective achievement across Saffery Trust. Each of our offices has continued to build on its strengths while contributing to our shared purpose of delivering trusted, tailored solutions for our clients and communities alike. As we look to 2026, our focus remains on growing responsibly, investing in our people, and ensuring that Saffery Trust continues to stand for excellence, integrity, and collaboration in everything we do.”
