Inside story of family offices

Duncan Straughen, director of Wates Family Office, was recruited to work closely with family members to help create the infrastructure and support needed for an actively engaged owners group. The family was just completing a transfer of ownership between generations. So in April 2008 as an integral part of this strategy, the family was looking at how to build the capability to deliver a broadening of the shareholders’ investments, financial interests and philanthropic goals.

Straughen was able to use his varied and extensive experience as a corporate treasurer and project finance banker in the energy and natural resources areas to help optimise project and investment structures and financing.

He found the job challenging in ways very different from his past experience. Initially all he could see were “innumerable well-honed predicators, sleek and purposeful, threatening”. These were the advisors and people offering services. On the other side were the family offices