Senior Partner and Managing Partner (Marrache & Co (law firm) )

What separates Marrache & Co. from all of the other law firms on the Rock?

[Mr. Benjamin Marrache]
Being the only Gibraltar firm that is international, we brand ourselves as such. We were the first firm to have offices in London, and now we also have offices in Lisbon, Spain and of course our office here in Gibraltar. We are also the only Gibraltar firm to have a sports management department. We realized that we could help everyone in the world of sports, be it in golf or football that would like to reside in beautiful southern Spain. Last year we worked with David Beckham and now we act on behalf of six or seven other English national football team members, several professional American basketball players, many major golf players from around the world, as well as people who run their own Formula One racing teams. This is a department that is growing very rapidly thanks to good word of mouth publicity.

[Mr. Isaac Marrache]
The great quality we have is that although we are an international law firm I think we still have that personal touch which our private clients greatly value. With regards to the international commercial work, our teams are there to be able to provide first class support.



Are there any other areas you have identified as having great growth potential?

[Mr. Benjamin Marrache]
We think insurance is a market that has been identified and the city of London will be looking at that very carefully. Fund management and administration is another major growth area. There are only two, licensed fund administrators in Gibraltar as opposed to fifty or so company managers. In fund management we have nothing when comparing deposits in Gibraltar (~$5 billion) to those in Jersey (~700 billion), Guernsey or the Cayman Islands, so there is huge market potential.

[Mr. Isaac Marrache]
Gibraltar could really be the alternative to Bermuda, which has become very expensive in that area, or an alternative to the Bahamas or the Caymans.

[Mr. Benjamin Marrache]
I believe Spain is another huge growth market. I believe there are over 600,000 UK ex-patriots that have come to Spain to live.



Obviously, your firm services many industries from telecommunication shipping, banking and real estate. Could you give us percentage breakdown of these different areas and how much they contribute to total earnings?

[Mr. Isaac Marrache]
That is a very difficult question to answer because our firm is broken up into various departments. What I can tell you is that we are an international firm, highly regarded in the field of high net-worth individuals, international tax, trusts and litigation. We are unique because we are the only major Gibraltar law firm to have a Spanish legal department with six Spanish lawyers in house. We reacted with the inward investment into Spain from the very beginning so as soon as the frontier opened we acted for the major companies of Spain and nearly six of the top ten English constructions companies as they went into Spain.

[Mr. Benjamin Marrache]
I believe that over the past year, we have accumulated a transactional basis of nearly 300 million sterling from those Spanish construction companies.

[Mr. Isaac Marrache]
Corporate restructuring work is another area in which we specialize. We worked for one of the major American corporations, in which the transactional fee was nearly 13 billion dollars.

In property we are doing this huge development called the Sovereign Bay development. Insolvency is another area in which we are considered leaders, having acted in the major insolvency cases in Gibraltar in the past.



What are some of the challenges you face when dealing with American corporations as opposed to European corporations?

[Mr. Isaac Marrache]
I think that differential has narrowed dramatically now, with American corporations entering Europe and European corporations entering the American market, but we have certainly learned a lot from our dealings with American corporations. We recently were involved with a major telecommunications deal in Africa involving a firm from Chicago. I think because of our linguistic abilities and because of the fact that we are all trained in British law, it is very easy to work with American clients.

[Mr. Benjamin Marrache]
I think you also find that many American firms, like us, have offices in London, which is another great advantage of ours. We can meet them and conduct our business in London, and an hour later the office in Gibraltar is ready to deal with the transaction.

[Mr. Isaac Marrache]
It’s what the Americans call “pressing the flesh.”



What other jurisdiction poses the greatest challenge for Gibraltar?

[Mr. Isaac Marrache]
I think we are undergoing a transformation from the old classification of “offshore center” to “international finance center.” I think that now that Gibraltar is a super regulated jurisdiction, still exempt from the European value added tax system (which Luxembourg has), but still a part of Europe (unlike Jersey and Guernsey), that it gives us a great advantage.



What is the biggest challenge facing Gibraltar?

[Mr. Benjamin Marrache]
As you know, the recent EU commission ruling, abolishing the “tax exempt” company, is our greatest challenge at the moment, but we have a very positive attitude towards that. If the EU finally accepts that our companies are European companies and can trade within the EU, it means that Gibraltar will be used to do a lot of trade within the European Union, in countries where right now we are still blacklisted. For example now in Spain, a Gibraltar company that owns property would pay a rate of tax on the rate of the property, as a blacklisted company. Once we rearrange our relationship with the EU, it will be discriminatory to do that to a Gibraltar company. So, by getting rid of the “exempt” company status, which has been the jewel in our “offshore” crown, and becoming a finance center, we will then have a company which will be able to have a company that will be able to trade throughout Europe, and that added to the passporting services we already have, will be a great advantage for Gibraltar.



What are some of the other advantages of Gibraltar as a place for doing business?

[Mr. Benjamin Marrache]
Because of our size, we can react faster, which most places cannot. We also have another asset that people these days realize is of great value, which is quality of life. Gibraltar is a beautiful place to live with great weather throughout much of the year.

[Mr. Isaac Marrache]
Another advantage of Gibraltar is that we are bilingual, which is very valuable as Central and South America continue to evolve into the future.



As a law firm “with an enviable track record in assisting knowledge based and technology-oriented businesses,” how many of the new gaming companies do you represent?

[Mr. Benjamin Marrache]
We act on behalf of the largest employer here, Victor Chandler who was the first online gaming company to come to Gibraltar. Legal counsel and advice is something we offer with respect to the gaming industry and it is an area in which we have been at the forefront, but we do not want to be known as “the gaming” law firm. What we try to do is diversify as a law firm. We want to represent a wide spectrum of clients.

[Mr. Isaac Marrache]
With respect to other technology-oriented businesses, we did the mobile telephone network for Morocco and have acted for Microsoft. Currently, we are involved in the acquisition of a major PTT.



What would be your personal message for our readers?

[Mr. Isaac Marrache]
Marrache & Co. is as safe and solid as the Rock of Gibraltar.