Looking beyond your shores

Politically and historically part of Europe, while having strong geological and cultural links with Africa, the island nation of Malta is a bridge between continents and can be an ideal gateway into Africa for European companies and investors, says M&A and capital markets expert Luca Vella, co-founder of VB Advocates.

“The locations are exceptionally close, Africa is literally an hour away, so there’s a lot of trade that passes through the channel, plenty of business going both ways,” says Luca, whose firm joined Alliott Global Alliance (AGA), an elite coalition of legal and accounting experts in 230 firms in over 100 countries, in March. 

While Malta’s location and infrastructure help build that ideal bridge, it is also the sound legal and regulatory framework which gives Malta a competitive advantage.. 

“We have a very robust legal system, and being a member state of the EU, there are also gateways into European markets which African countries and businesses could benefit from, along with our attractive tax regime.”

Luca established VB Advocates in 2023 with Karl Briffa, who has over 20 years’ experience advising local and international clients in various commercial, corporate, and civil law disputes before courts and arbitral tribunals. But the family legacy in law stretches back eight decades, across three generations, to when Dr Joseph Vella, Luca’s grandfather, began his practice in Valetta in 1943.

VB Advocates has a dozen lawyers, many of whom have been working together for over a decade. Luca and Karl decided to build a very modern firm that focused on legal practice, rather than the multidisciplinary law, tax, and accountancy practices that had become more prevalent locally. 

Going back to their foundations, with a modern outlook. 

“Our intention was to be purposely boutique,” says Luca. “We are looking to grow, but in a structured manner, not just for the sake of growth. This allows us to be very flexible at a time that presents many challenges to business and the legal industry. Our size allows us to be flexible enough to adapt quickly to very fast evolving trends.”

Coming from a smaller island nation inherently encourages an outward-looking perspective, agrees Luca, in life and in legal practice. 

“The cross-border element is always there, we’re always looking outwards, and that leads us to collaborate a lot through the legal profession. We have clients we’ve been servicing for a long time across a number of industries, including hospitality and real estate, food and drink manufacturing and retail, who have a very strong presence in Africa,”

This means that VB Advocates, who advises the head offices, has a lot of regular interaction with legal colleagues across the African continent on matters occurring on the ground in various African nations, from the establishment of local businesses to supply agreements to malls, trademarks, and more. 

That modern ethos and cross-border outlook, that idea of always looking beyond your shores, also led VB Advocates to join AGA, says Luca. “Access to an international alliance was very interesting to us. We looked into a couple and we felt AGA was a very good fit in that the firm profiles seemed to match ours; generally younger firms looking towards growth and cross-border integration of businesses and opportunities. It has a modern approach and is dynamic.”