Apex has just bought Sanne and GFin, making it by far one of the biggest conglomerates in Mauritius. We take the opportunity of a quick visit of its founder and Chief Executive Officer Peter Hughes to talk about his vision, the elements that made the group expansion possible against the Covid backdrop and seek his views on issues related to the offshore and the Mauritian economy in general.

I understand you are here in the context of expanding the company in Mauritius?
Mauritius is one of our key offices, set up by Chandra [Gujadhur – Ed] in 2006, and our local footprint has successfully scaled organically for over a decade. In the last 18 months, in spite of COVID, we have been fortunate to be able to announce the acquisition of two exceptional businesses to complement our existing local operation;  closed a deal to acquire GFin in February 2021 and  are currently in the process of acquiring Sanne Group PLC, which employs about 250 people in Mauritius. So, combining these new additions with the existing business we have had in Mauritius for the last 15 years, we become a significant employer with about 1,000 local employees.

Covid made it very difficult for many companies to survive. Yours, on the other hand, is thriving. What is the reason behind your expansion when many other companies are going belly-up?
I think we have been fortunate to survive because we are totally focused on the experience of our clients and remained committed to delivering great service to our clients throughout the most challenging moment of the pandemic. Our technology and ability to deliver a digital-first response meant we were able to provide a consistent service to all our clients globally under Covid. That support and the additional confidence it gave our clients knowing they are in safe hands, has meant that they are able to give us more work and focus on their performance. Working from home or working remotely hasn’t really slowed down our productivity or the service we are offering.

So no negative consequences from Covid?
I think we would have performed better without Covid. Certainly, the stress levels for our teams and our staff were much higher in this environment and in addition to technology capabilities it was our people really going above and beyond that enabled us to avoid business impact. It has been a challenging time for employees so yes we certainly would rather not have had Covid. Who knows what things could have been without it - but we have come through it very well and that is also testament to our hard-working culture and commitment of our people.

Were other companies particularly hit, which is why you managed to acquire them?
Our M&A strategy is to add product and geography to enhance our client experience, so the acquisition companies were not struggling and were a normal course for our strategy and they fit very well with our model. We are looking to have as many solutions for asset managers as we can in terms of delivering the complete product set but also covering off every geography and Mauritius is an important part of that story.

What makes Mauritius important to your business?
For us the time zone positioning is very important as we can cover the globe. Mauritius also has such a strong workforce of qualified accountants. I think it has the most per head globally. It is a unique opportunity for our business. Thanks to our people, we can offer better services to our clients.

Is your business doing equally well globally or particularly in Mauritius?
Mauritius has always been an important jurisdiction for us even as far back as 2008 during the financial crisis; it was a key office during that time and it has always been a strong growth country for our business and the local acquisitions made have allowed us to attract the right People and have the right work environment. 

Apart from the availability of a qualified workforce and the time zone proximity you mentioned, is there anything else that makes Mauritius attractive for fund administration?
The work ethic. You will find that people are prepared to go the extra mile for our clients and that is a great advantage for us as we can deliver on time. I think it’s critical not to have just the qualifications, but you need to back it up with a very strong work ethic. 

Did the end to the DTAT with India affect your business?
A little bit. But if you leverage Mauritius for other reasons, such as the skilled workforce and the time zone proximity, you will find that a treaty change won’t change that. So for us the impact was not very big and we can still do business with Africa and other places.

“Team spirit, training, learning and understanding the culture of the company are not really things you can do with people working from home. So we are encouraging people to come back to the office for these reasons.” 

Wasn’t India a big chunk of the business?
It certainly was and still is because many Indian asset managers prefer to keep things in Mauritius in order not to upset the status quo. 

What about the blacklisting? Did that hurt?
It didn’t really. We have been able to continue more or less as we had except that we had to deal with more diligent questions for on both Apex and our clients, which added to our workload. So we are hoping that will change soon as the regulator has stepped forward in order to promote the strong reputation of Mauritius.

Coming back to the workforce, is it easy to find people in the skill sets you are looking for?
It has become harder as with Covid there has been less mobility globally. Mauritius being only 1.2 million people, there is a finite talent pool. Though there is a high number of accountants per head, there is still a limited number. So, competition for staff has increased as people have realised the benefits of doing business in Mauritius in the sector.

Do you have difficulties importing skills from abroad?
Our focus is to think about hiring differently; we are hiring to allow people career opportunities that are global, so they come here for two or three years and they know they get well trained and can relocate within our organisation to another country with our support. So it is great for young people who want to take advantage of opportunities that are global.

“It is the combination of having the full product and delivering it to more and more jurisdictions around the world that has helped us. We have 80 offices around the world and Mauritius is an important part of that story.”

I can see that many desks are empty in the office. Is work from home a deliberate choice?
No, we believe in the value of being able to connect with your colleagues in-person -so would rather have as many people as possible in the office. However, as a result of Covid we have to ensure social distancing so some desks have to be left empty to do that. 

Why is it important to have staff physically present?
the team spirit, training, learning, even understanding the culture of the company are not really things you can do with people working from home fulltime. So we are encouraging people to come back to the office for these reasons. 

Now that you have clinched an important deal, what’s next?
Apex is more than just a financial services provider. Our purpose is to drive positive change across the financial services space, to support a more sustainable, inclusive and responsible future for our industry, both in Mauritius and globally. We want to be a business that has a positive impact on everyone that interacts with us in Mauritius and to be a responsible corporate citizen, focused on making a difference to our people, our planet and the societies and communities in which we work.