Family Office

Bespoke solutions for ultra-wealthy individuals and families

Managing and growing significant wealth for future generations can present both unique opportunities and intricate challenges. Our EMEA Family Office Centre of Excellence supports wealthy families and their family offices across the EMEA region, guiding them through these complexities with clarity and confidence.

Leveraging our global network of specialists, we help international families define their priorities, implement robust wealth strategies, and establish long-term structures that safeguard their wealth and legacy for the future.

Where we can help

Our services

Our teams offer a comprehensive suite of advisory and implementation support across the entire family office operating model.

Family office creation & transformation

It is vital that a family office is equipped to deliver the family’s vision and that the objectives of the family and their family office are aligned.

We support:

Design and build of family offices
Strategy formation and review
Governance and operational structure
Design of reward structures
Review of existing family office operations

For further information on creating and transforming a family office, please contact Christina Staples.

Private Client Tax Services

In today’s complex financial and legal landscape, high-net-worth individuals and families want peace of mind that their assets and wealth are protected for future generations, and their affairs are structured to promote long-term growth of their wealth as well as the value of any associated enterprises, such as companies or trusts.

We support:

Business transformation advice
Wealth structuring advice
Succession planning support
Assistance with handling cross border complexities
Reporting

For further information on our Private Client Services click here, or contact Michael Hooke.

Tax strategy & governance

Preserving the family’s assets and reputation are a key responsibility of the family and family office and nowhere more so than in the area of tax. Recent developments in the way tax affairs are scrutinised globally have fundamentally changed the landscape in which families and their family offices must operate.

We support:

Asset and jurisdiction mapping
Tax strategy
Governance
Audit readiness
Resolution of disputes with global tax authorities

For further information on tax strategy and governance, please contact Annis Lampard.

Audit & assurance

How do you know that what you think you have is actually what you have?

We provide statutory and non-statutory audit services to support families and family office executives by providing an independent view on the completeness and accuracy of accounting records, and the valuation of the wealth of the family or family office.

In addition to this, we also perform the following:

Physical asset verification
Internal audit support
Operational assurance reviews - looking at the control environment, governance, investment process and IT - amongst other things depending on the needs of the family office
Hard to value asset verifications and independent valuations
Investment valuation governance support and best practice recommendations
Investment due diligence

For further information on audit and assurance, please contact Charlotte Lord and Jutta Tornivaara.

Global requirements

In today’s world, families are increasingly mobile, often based in multiple jurisdictions and travelling extensively. This drives the need to understand their tax position and immigration status, and to ensure that family wealth structures are fit for purpose.

We support:

Multi-jurisdiction tax advice on relocation of family members
Global tax reporting
Cross-border reporting and information exchange
Developing wealth structures to cater for the needs of global families
Immigration support including visas and citizenship applications

For further information on your global requirements, please contact Michael Hooke, Nicola Roberts and Ian Goodsell.

Private equity investments

An effective family office will implement an investment strategy which manages the balance between the desire for long-term wealth preservation, the income needs of the family and the objectives of the current generation.

We support:

Strategic advice regarding investment strategy objectives
Identification of potential investment opportunities
'Hands-on' transaction execution
Commercial, financial and tax due diligence, and tax advice on structuring of any investment
Debt and capital advisory services

For further information on private equity investments, please contact Holly Smith and Mark Kennedy.

Real estate investments

Whether it’s the financing of an office acquisition, investing in a global real estate fund, or structuring the development of retail and residential mixed-use assets, we care about all our investors’ issues – from those of the ultimate beneficial owner to the bricks and mortar.

We support:

Property investment advisory services
Real estate M&A transaction services, including financial and tax due diligence and structuring advice
Tax advisory services throughout the investment lifecycle, including capital allowances advice
Tax compliance services

For further information on real estate investments, please contact Abhishek Jaiswal and Mandy Yau.

Cyber security

Cyber has become a top business risk with targeted data breaches and ransomware attacks on the rise. Latest statistics indicate that family offices are becoming more attractive targets for and more frequent victims of cyber-attacks.

We have developed a catalogue of cyber and technology risk services designed to strengthen family offices’ cyber security posture, including:

Risk Assessment: Understanding your risk exposure
Security Strategy: Developing your security approach
Security Awareness: Growing your people’s ‘security muscles’
Resilience and Recovery: Preparing for potential breaches

For further information on cyber security, please contact Nick O’Kelly.

Succession

Only by understanding what is important to a family and their current and future needs can a family define and execute a clear strategy that preserves wealth across generations and ensures that personal and financial objectives are met.

We support:

Succession planning
Next generation education
Estate planning and wealth structures for long-term wealth preservation

For further information on succession, please contact Michael Hooke , Nicola Roberts and Ian Goodsell.

Philanthropy

As with a family’s investments, it is vitally important to have a strategic approach to philanthropic endeavours in order to maximise value and impact.

We support:

Design of the philanthropic structure to meet the family’s requirements
Ongoing tax advice to maximise value

For further information on philanthropy, please contact Michael Hooke, Nicola Roberts and Ian Goodsell.

Tax, legal & regulatory

Family offices manage significant and often complex wealth across multiple jurisdictions and generations. This requires a robust approach to implementing the right structures and dealing with tax and regulatory compliance to ensure efficiency, mitigate risks, and maintain legal adherence. Our tax services for family offices cover initial structuring advice at the outset as well as ongoing support for the family office and the family itself:

Tax and legal structuring advice (e.g. use of companies, partnerships, trusts or other vehicles to deliver the overall arrangements which are suitable for the circumstances)
Legal jurisdiction advice
Ongoing advice to the family office (e.g. structuring M&A transactions, acquiring assets such as real estate or managing tax compliance requirements)
Personal tax considerations for the family (e.g. estate planning). Learn more: Private Client Services | Deloitte UK

Operations

Clearly defining your operating model is paramount to managing a family office efficiently. It determines your scope of services, whether you need a dedicated internal team, outsourced specialists, or a hybrid model, and dictates your operational budget, staffing needs, and technology requirements. We provide guidance on:

Defining scope of family office services
In-house, outsourced or hybrid delivery models
Family office governance frameworks
Staffing requirements, reward and remuneration structures
Operating cost considerations

Mergers & acquisitions (M&A)

Family offices require specialised M&A support, catering to their unique investment mandates, long-term horizons, and often strategic, rather than purely financial, objectives. Our dedicated family office M&A team provides specialist support across:

Investment objectives and strategy guidance
Buy-side advice, including origination, valuation, deal structuring, legal, negotiation
Sell-side advice, including sale preparation, exit-readiness, buyer identification, legal, negotiation
Transaction execution and post-merger integration support
Real estate transaction and property investment support

Audit & assurance

Audit and Assurance services for family offices are crucial to ensure transparency, mitigate risks, maintain compliance, and provide confidence to family members regarding the management of their collective wealth. Our audit & assurance team helps provide families with peace of mind through the following family office services:

Statutory and non-statutory audits
Accounting and reporting assurance
Operational assurance reviews
Regulatory compliance audits and reviews
Physical asset verifications and valuations
Investment performance reporting

Digital & technology

As wealth management grows in complexity and data volumes explode, the right digital and technology solutions for family offices are vital. Our digital and technology team help family offices to enhance efficiency, improve decision-making, and facilitate seamless reporting through:

Digital transformation strategy and implementation
Integrated wealth management platforms selection and implementation
Data management and analytics
AI, automation and efficiency tools

Risk management

Risk management services for family offices are essential for safeguarding wealth, preserving legacy, and ensuring the long-term stability and success of the family's financial and non-financial assets. Our teams offer a holistic and proactive approach for family offices helping them to minimise and respond to risk across:

Cyber security and data protection
Reputational risk
Business continuity planning and disaster recovery
Tax disputes
Investment risk
Fraud risk

Family dynamics, governance & succession planning

With the growing complexity of family wealth and the desire to preserve family values and legacy across generations, family offices are increasingly moving beyond their traditional focus areas and taking on a more central role in family governance and succession planning. Our family dynamics, governance and succession services aim to help families navigate complex transitions and ensure long-term success. They include :

(Co-)mediation, (co-)facilitation, negotiation and coaching
Family governance frameworks
Board effectiveness
Family and shareholders agreements
Next generation preparation
Philanthropy, foundations, and impact investing

Learn more: Family Business Dynamics & Governance Centre of Excellence | Deloitte Belgium

Our thinking

The Family Office Handbook

Establishing and operating a family office, or expanding the services of an existing family office, requires careful analysis and planning to properly manage, protect, and grow a family’s wealth. Deloitte’s Family Office Handbook aims to address some of the key questions that may arise along the way, and in turn help the legacy a family has built sustain its interests into the future.

Explore The Family Office Handbook

The Family Office Handbook

Establishing and operating a family office, or expanding the services of an existing family office, requires careful analysis and planning to properly manage, protect, and grow a family’s wealth. Deloitte’s Family Office Handbook aims to address some of the key questions that may arise along the way, and in turn help the legacy a family has built sustain its interests into the future.

Explore The Family Office Handbook

EMEA Centre of Excellence