Andy Wood, Director

Andy was called to the bar in 2019 after learning his ‘trade’ in large, international accountancy firms including the Big 4.

Over a decade ago (2011 to be precise), hoping that some of the magic dust from these entrepreneurial clients had rubbed off on him, he established his own tax advisory business.

His clients, as well as the aforementioned entrepreneurs, also include high-net-worth individuals, sports persons and entertainers and private companies.

Following his call, Andy hopes that he can bring his own commercial experience, and strong problem-solving skills, to advising his clients at the bar.

He believes passionately that all clients should get clear and decisive advice that should be delivered in plain English.

He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (Fellow) and the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (“STEP”).

He is also the author of the book, Cryptocurrencies and other other digital assets: Tax Law and Practice published by Claritax Books. The first of its kind covering the taxation of cryptoassets in the UK.

Having grown up in Castleford, West Yorkshire, Andy has rugby league in his DNA. He is also a Yorkshire cricket fan and long-suffering Everton supporter.

Stuart Stobie, Head of Business Development

Stuart has accumulated 25 years of experience in the trust and fiduciary business sector. His journey commenced in Hong Kong alongside Grant Thornton, and subsequently, he became an integral part of Sovereign, driving business growth across Asia and being appointed Managing Director, before transitioning to Gibraltar.
 
After a successful tenure as the Managing Director of Sovereign's Gibraltar head-office, Stuart's path led him to Zurich, where he became associated with Coutts Bank. There, he served as a private banker on their Asia desk.

Eventually, he returned to the United Kingdom, where he contributed his expertise to a venture capital enterprise. In 2018, he reconnected with Sovereign, as Managing Director of Sovereign Corporate and Trustee Services Ltd.
 
Stuart's professional journey has afforded him membership in STEP. His diverse background in the financial and fiduciary domain equips him to tackle a wide array of challenges and devise solutions for his clients and collaborators.

V S Vinod, Head of Family Office

Vinod is a passionate professional with over 35 years of experience in sales, business development and general management at global fortune 500 corporations, followed by 15 years of experience as a counsellor to High Net Worth Individuals (HNI) in the area of business strategy, estate structuring, legacy planning and wealth preservation across generations.

We live in uncertain and troubling times. A glance at the front pages of any newspaper validate this. An event in one corner of the globe can quickly have an impact on our own lives. Whether one is an employed professional

or the owner of a business, large or small, one faces a rapidly changing macro-economic, business, financial and cultural landscape. How does one navigate through the challenges posed by globalization, the internet and the

ever tightening regulatory environment? This becomes an all-consuming exercise, leaving little or no time nor bandwidth to dwell on the more critical subject of ‘wealth preservation’.

How does one protect what one has already created and pass it on efficiently to future generations? Who does one turn to, just to talk about these truly existential challenges? Who can one share one’s deepest fears and concerns with? Someone who has no vested interest in ‘selling’ you a ‘solution’? Someone, who you can trust to not misuse the information? Someone who can constructively add value to both sides of the spectrum – creation and preservation?



Vinod is a sought after public speaker and often addresses groups of people on the importance and challenges of planning for future generations.

Ben Stafford, Property Advisory

Benjamin Stafford relocated to Dubai in 2020, with over a decade of property sales and management in Dubai and the UK.



Ben is a RERA-licensed real estate professional who was born and raised in Kent, UK. Working at the forefront of the Dubai real estate market since 2020, relocating to Dubai after forging a successful sales career in the UK motor industry. It was when he made the switch into real estate that he found his passion and quickly discovered that investment property was his specialism. Noticing a trend for foreign investors searching for property in Dubai, he relocated to the city and Set up Reloc8 to meet the growing demand.

Ben has since helped hundreds of investors to take advantage of Dubai’s booming real estate market

Abimbola Ilo, Solicitor & Business Executive

Abimbola Ilo is a qualified solicitor and business executive with diverse practice experience in commercial transactions, mergers & acquisitions, project finance and capital markets. He has consulted for major international companies for over 20 years, with projects on every continent.
 
He is currently the Chairman at Integral, one of Africa’s leading sports management enterprises with market leadership in the areas of Hospitality, Events, Media Rights, Sponsorships and Talent Management services.
 
Abimbola leads the team at Integral and in recent years has secured a number of international partnerships including being appointed as the exclusive agent in Nigeria for the Official Hospitality Programme at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France.
 
In recent years, Abimbola has been involved at the forefront of sports media rights, especially in football, advising broadcasters and rights owners alike, on their respective acquisitions, and also importantly delivering record breaking commercial value through sponsorships and media partnerships, & media rights sales. Abimbola led the team at Integral to secure the media rights for the territory of Nigeria, for free to air television for the Premier League. He also led the team that acquired the exclusive media rights for the FIFA World Cup 2022 African Qualifiers in the territory of Nigeria. His work spans new media too, executing projects for brands specifically for digital sports content.
 
Abimbola has also represented the largest European football clubs as a commercial advisor in Africa, delivering ground breaking regional partnerships in various sectors – telecommunications, banking and beverage categories. 

He has now also made a foray into the e-Sports space, and have a licence agreement with EA SPORTS, delivering the first ever FIFA23 event in Africa in July 2023.
 
Abimbola is a consummate professional and is very well regarded in international circles within the football, sports marketing, media and sponsorship terrain as an industry leading expert.