Offshore professional services firm Mourant has hired a partner from Maples & Calder to set up shop in Singapore, the firm’s ninth office globally. 

Craig Luton has joined the firm after seven years at Maples, where he was a partner in its funds and investment management team. He will lead Mourant’s new office as Singapore managing partner. 

Mourant said the new office would pivot it further towards alternative asset management and enable it to capitalise on the rising significance of Singapore as a global finance centre, as well as the growing importance of the South East Asia financial services market. The firm also has plans to develop its Singapore banking and finance and litigation practices and to add a governance services offering.

At Mourant, Luton will work alongside Paul Christopher, managing partner of the firm’s Hong Kong office, who will oversee the pan-Asia practice in a new role as managing partner for Asia. Christopher will continue to lead the Hong Kong office, which Mourant said has grown significantly in recent years to a team of 60 including nine partners.

“I would like to extend a warm welcome to Craig,” Christopher said. “He has a wealth of experience in investment funds and private equity and this, combined with the firm’s existing relationships in the region, will increase Mourant’s geographical reach.”

Luton specialises in the structure, formation, launch and maintenance of Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands private equity funds, venture capital funds and hedge funds, as well as downstream private equity transactions. He will work closely with Mourant’s Asia-based banking and finance and litigation teams, as well as its governance services professionals, the firm said. 

The Singapore move continues a period of expansion for Mourant, which launched a consulting arm in 2021, acquired Mauritius and Guernsey-based accounting business Offshore Group in 2022 and earlier this year entered Luxembourg when it acquired local independent LexField and its affiliated governance services business. 

The latest expansion takes the firm’s overall headcount to more than 700 across offices in the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Mauritius and now Singapore.