Welcome to our End of Year Edition of the Sovereign Report
As 2025 draws to a close, we are pleased to bring you an update on the latest developments impacting our clients and partners worldwide.
This edition is especially timely, following the UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget announcement, which sets the stage for significant fiscal changes in the coming years. The Budget introduces £26 billion in tax rises, including a new ‘mansion tax’ on high-value properties, an increase in dividend, savings and property tax rates, and extended freezes on income tax and inheritance tax thresholds.
These measures are projected to raise the UK’s tax burden to a record 38.3% of GDP by 2030, which will have wide-ranging implications for individuals, families and businesses. We provide a summary of the key Budget changes in this newsletter and our team will be examining the implications for UK tax residents in a one-hour Private Client Planning Impact Assessment Webinar to be held at 9am UK time on Wednesday, 17 December. To register for this free event, please click on this link.
This issue also features insights from our global network, including updates on the Mauritius Finance Act, Hong Kong’s status as Asia’s most international city, Gibraltar’s financial sector confidence and regulatory changes in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. We also highlight best practices in family office governance, retirement planning and risk management in light of recent cyber-attacks.
We hope you find this newsletter a valuable resource in helping to navigate an increasingly complex global environment. Our team remains here to support your planning and decision-making with clarity and confidence.
In the spirit of the festive season please see below special offer from Howard’s Folly!
CORPORATE SERVICES NEWS
Mauritius gazettes the Finance Act 2025
Trust data on the UK Register of Overseas Entities opens to public access on request
Hong Kong ranked as ‘most international city’ in Asia
Gibraltar’s strengthening confidence as a dynamic International Financial Centre
A strategic guide to Outsourcing Payroll in Hong Kong
IP and Trademark Registration in the UAE
Why Growing Businesses Must Update Trade Licenses in UAE
Unlocking the benefits of Isle of Man VAT registration for Businesses and Investors
Singapore brings Refundable Investment Credits regime into force
PRIVATE CLIENT NEWS
Malta streamlines set up for Single Family Offices
Planning for the future: how Trusts can elevate wealth and asset management in Vietnam
Saudi Arabia expands real estate ownership for non-Saudis
Family office governance: why an independent professional is essential Family
UK Autumn Budget 2025: tax hikes, fiscal drag and the mansion tax
The key to modern recruitment and retention: an International Pension and Savings Plans
Employers face multiple challenges in 2025 including economic volatility, a slowing hiring market, persistent skill gaps, and the need to adapt to technological shifts like AI and changing workforce expectations around flexibility and well-being.
Increasingly, employers are utilising international pension and savings schemes to aid recruitment and retention in a climate of uncertainty and against a backdrop of employees now moving within or between organisations and locations in less predictable, non-linear ways.
What the 2025 cyber-attacks on major retailers can teach us about risk
Cyber criminals targeted several major retailers in a series of attacks during April and May that disrupted services, exposed customer data, and forced companies to rethink their cybersecurity strategies. And in late August, Britain’s biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) was forced to halt production after its manufacturing and retailing activities were “severely disrupted” by a cyber-incident.
Corporate Social Responsibility Update
Sovereign Art Foundation finishes 2025 on a high
The Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) proudly concludes this season with two successful fundraising events held in Dubai and Portugal, each reinforcing our mission to bring therapeutic benefits of art to disadvantaged children around the world.
On 14 November, SAF partnered with local charity Gulf for Good to hold the ‘Strides 4 Good’ Gala Dinner at The Lana hotel, Dubai. Nearly 200 guests gathered for this black-tie event, which marked the culmination of an extraordinary charitable adventure as part of the World Marathon Challenge.
5 Questions with Martin-Dale Bradley
Please contact us if you have any questions or queries and your local representative will be in touch with you as soon as possible.
