Opus Bermuda has reinforced its valuation offering in the region, highlighting increasing demand for specialist expertise in shareholder disputes, insolvency situations, and wider contentious valuation matters across the insurance, financial services and corporate sectors.
The team is seeing growing requirements for valuation input in complex cross-border structures, particularly where shareholder disagreements, unfair prejudice claims, and restructuring scenarios require robust, defensible valuations that stand up to scrutiny in court or arbitration.
Valma Pipi, Partner at Opus Bermuda, said the trend reflects a broader rise in contentious activity across the island’s financial and professional services landscape.
“We are seeing a clear increase in demand for valuation expertise in Bermuda, particularly in contentious matters such as shareholder disputes, insolvency processes and restructuring scenarios,” she said.
“These cases often require not only technical valuation skills, but also a deep understanding of how value is assessed in complex, cross-border corporate structures. Our team is increasingly being asked to provide independent valuation advice and, where necessary, support proceedings through expert evidence.”
This expertise is especially valuable for pre-emptive rights scenarios and in liquidations, where the insolvency practitioner’s duty to creditors is paramount. The valuation must reflect genuine open market value, not a figure that suits the parent’s position, and must be capable of withstanding independent scrutiny.
The Bermuda offering is supported by Opus’ wider international valuation capability, with experience spanning multi-jurisdictional corporate structures and disputes involving both going concern and liquidation bases of valuation.
Nicholas Parton, Partner and Head of Forensic Accounting at Opus, has recently provided expert valuation evidence in the Commercial Court in London in relation to a dispute involving a minority shareholding in a group of companies operating across multiple jurisdictions, including the Caribbean.
The matter required consideration of both going concern and liquidation valuation bases, alongside complex group structures and intangible assets in a winding-up context.
He commented, “Valuation work in these environments is rarely straightforward. You are often dealing with overlapping jurisdictions, complex ownership structures and competing stakeholder interests,” he said. “Our role is to provide clear, independent and evidence-based valuation analysis that can withstand scrutiny in legal proceedings, while also ensuring that value is properly understood and protected for all stakeholders involved.”
Opus notes that demand is being driven not only by an increase in disputes brought before the courts, but also by the need for early-stage valuation input to support negotiations and, where possible, avoid escalation.
If you are seeking professional advice for your business or your Client, one of our specialists can discuss options with you. We have offices in Bermuda, led locally by Valma Pipi, and across the UK. By contacting us on +1 441 903 2539, you will be able to get immediate assistance from our Partner-led team.