Business in brief

The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority has licensed three new captive managers.

“We are very pleased to welcome three new captive managers to Cayman,” said Robert Leadbetter, chairman of the Insurance Managers Association of Cayman. “Success breeds success, and as Cayman’s captive insurance market continues to grow, new managers will seek to establish themselves here. This growth is welcomed and allows Cayman to widen its competitive edge in the captive market.”

Somers Risk Management Ltd, was licensed as a Cayman captive manager on Sept. 4, 2013; Patriot Captive Management, was licensed on Dec. 24, 2013; and R&Q Quest Management Services (Cayman) Ltd., was licensed on Jan. 30, 2013.

Pedro Reis, deputy head Insurance Supervision at CIMA said, “2013 continued to show steady growth for the Cayman Islands, as a top-rated domicile for captive insurance companies, with 39 licenses issued for Class B, C and D insurers, and an increase of 3 percent in the total number of licenses to 761. During the year, three more insurance managers were licensed in Cayman, which speaks about the health and growth of Cayman’s Captive Insurance Industry as a whole.”

There are more than 5,000 captives globally and Cayman is the second largest domicile in the sector with particular expertise in the healthcare space.

Accounting firm PKF Cayman has audited the financial statements of the National Council of Voluntary Organisations for the last two years free of charge.

The local nonprofit charitable organization is dedicated to the care, education and well-being of children and families in need of support.

Ben Leung, managing partner of PKF, said his firm “believes in the aims and objectives of the NCVO and is honored to provide ongoing support to the organization.”

Janice Wilson, CEO of the charity, said, “We are extremely fortunate to have the support of PKF Cayman. Having audited accounts is tremendously important; anyone wanting to donate to the NCVO can be assured that their funds will be properly utilized, and that those donations will enable us to assist children and families in need through our programs.”

Cayman Enterprise City, Cayman’s special economic zone, has promoted Renee High to client services executive. Ms. High joined the CEC team three years ago as executive assistant to the development team a full year before the zone opened.

In her new position, Ms. High will focus on advancing Enterprise Cayman initiatives meant to connect Caymanians with opportunities in the zone.

“Although special economic zone companies may bring staff to Cayman from anywhere in the world, many, if not most companies entering the zone, seek to hire Caymanians. In some cases this is right away and in others it is upon the company getting established and seeking to expand,” said Ms. High. “An important part of my job will be to identify all suitable Caymanian candidates for available positions and to assist them in arranging interviews, etc.”

Resumes uploaded through the zone Internet jobs portal are matched to suitable job openings, and Ms. High responds to inquiries and is available to help people through the application process.

Another project on Ms. High’s agenda is building a database of student applications for CEC’s summer internship program and matching them with potential clients interested in mentoring. This year’s internship program has been extended to include companies set up in the CEC Internet and Technology Park, the Commodities Park, and Media Park.

Urquhart Design, a local firm providing design, development, town planning and sustainable horticultural solutions, has been featured in two international magazines for work done by owner Sandy Urquhart.

Urquhart Design spearheads commercial and residential projects locally and abroad. Most recently, Urquhart’s work was featured in the February issue of House & Garden UK. The article, “Going Native,” chronicles private client work in Grand Cayman and features images by Andrea Jones, a leading plant, garden and landscape photographer.

The piece, written by Jodie Jones, follows Urquhart’s design process through the creation of a series of interconnected garden spaces at an oceanfront home on Seven Mile Beach.

In 2013, Urquhart’s work at Camana Bay was chronicled in Garden Magazine in a piece titled “Back To Their Roots.”

The Camana Bay town center is featured for the holistic approach Urquhart used in the entire scope of the design project, managing a team of architects, landscape designers, signage and wayfinding experts and fountain designers to achieve the final result.

“I am absolutely humbled to have the work I have done with these incredible local individuals, clients and businesses shared on these global platforms,” said Mr. Urquhart. “This exposure is a testament to the trust put in me by my business associates to create special spaces for them, their families and their own customers.”

The Consolidated Water board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.075 per share. The dividend is payable April 30 to shareholders of record at the close of business April 1, 2014.

The company also announced that its annual general shareholders’ meeting will be at 10 a.m. May 28 at the Westin resort. Shareholders of record as of March 25, 2014, will be eligible to vote at the meeting.

Corporate and finance lawyer Claire McConway has been appointed “of counsel” in the British Virgin Islands practice of multijurisdictional offshore law firm Carey Olsen. In this London-based role, Ms. McConway will focus on developing the firm’s Russian practice.

Ms. McConway has expertise in corporate and finance transactions involving Russia and the CIS, which often utilize BVI companies.

Florida law firm Cantor & Webb has been shortlisted as one of nine finalists for the 2014 Citywealth Magic Circle Awards in the category of International Law Firm of the Year, USA by U.K.-based Citywealth magazine.

The shortlist is the first stage of a voting process by an international panel of practitioners from across the private wealth sector. The second stage of the process involves popular voting online and allows the private wealth industry to act as a judge along with the panel of practitioners.

Award winners will be announced at a ceremony on May 8 in London.

Corporate recovery, insolvency and forensic accounting firm KRyS Global announced Mathew Clingerman’s relocation from the Cayman Islands to head the firm’s office in Bermuda.

Mr. Clingerman, who succeeds Patrick McPhee, has more than a decade of experience in the offshore insolvency and financial services industries. In Cayman he was senior manager, responsible for leading complex cross-border asset recovery and insolvency cases.

In overseeing high-value commercial litigation and fraud investigations, he has become an advocate of technology-based solutions. He is a practice leader of KRyS Global’s Ferret Services, which focus on digital forensics, digital analytics and e-discovery.

KRyS Global opened its Bermuda office in 2010.

Solomon Harris has been awarded the title of “offshore law firm of the year” at the U.S. Captive Service Awards 2013. Solomon Harris partner and head of insurance Paul Scrivener said, “We are very pleased indeed to have received this award for the second time in a row, beating strong competition again. The judging panel is comprised of highly respected individuals in the global captive insurance industry, and so this is a wonderful endorsement of Solomon Harris’s captive insurance group, the largest noncontentious team in the Cayman Islands.”