International legal and professional services firm Ince has today announced the opening of a new office in Limassol, Cyprus.

A six strong team of dually qualified English and Cypriot Lawyers, including office head George Zambartas, will join from L.Zambartas LLC, which has operated in Cyprus for 14 years. The Cypriot team will be supported by dedicated professionals from the Ince Group.

The office, which will be Ince’s first in the country and sixth in Europe, will have a specific focus on the maritime sector, with core expertise including shipping funds and yachting transactions. The office is also well positioned to advise on private wealth, immigration, financial litigation and energy related matters. Alongside the law firm and as part of the Group’s strategic plan, the firm will operate a separate consultancy business providing a full range of corporate support services including project management, trust and management services.

Incoming office head George Zambartas has extensive experience in Commercial Law and Cypriot Corporate Law as well as shipping, ship financing, maritime claims and ship management. Notably, he has advised shipping companies, particularly in Russia and Ukraine, in seeking ship finance from Western European banks. As well as this, Mr Zambartas has provided legal opinions on matters of Cyprus Law to international banks on high value transactions and drafted security documents compliant with Cyprus Law to facilitate said transactions. He is the Special Agent in Cyprus for the Liberian Maritime Authority.

This new addition in Cyprus follows the launch of Ince Gibraltar in April 2019, which also has an expertise and focus on shipping matters in and around the Mediterranean.

Commenting on the opening, Adrian Biles, Chief Executive of The Ince Group said:

“I am pleased to announce the opening of this new office in what I believe will be an increasingly prosperous region for Ince. I look forward to welcoming our six new colleagues to the Ince team and have every faith that they will excel with us and continue to offer our clients old and new, the high level of service they have come to associate with the Ince name.”

Julian Clark, Global Senior Partner of Ince said:

“For me this is the realisation of a dream that I have fostered for over 25 years of visiting and working with clients on the island. Cyprus has been a second home to me and I have always believed that it deserves the presence of a global firm to support the growing importance of Cyprus in the shipping world. Together with our local team I look forward to helping Cyprus continue with its growth and strategic projects.”

Alex Janes, Head of EMEA said:

‘This is an important moment for Ince and the opening of this new office at this time is a signifier of our ambition to continue to grow our European practice and strengthen both our international and localised offerings. The Cyprus office is now our sixth in the region and follows the successful launch of our Gibraltar office last year. Our new colleagues will work with teams across the UK, Germany and the wider Ince network to assist our clients with the issues that matter most to them. Ince is committed to building the best possible professional services team and increasing our presence internationally allows us not only to expand our team, but also to diversify our expertise and service offering.”

George Zambartas, Cyprus office head said:

“I am excited to be leading the way for Ince in Cyprus. The country is a hot bed of activity within the maritime space and it is right that Ince, which has a rich history in the shipping sector, should have a presence here. In addition, we will be able to support a number of infrastructure and other projects and provide clients, both inbound and outbound, with a world class professional business support service. This new venture will be successful in contributing to the further growth of the Ince network and at the same time will further elevate the global reputation of the legal profession in Cyprus.”