Ocorian expands UAE presence with acquisition of regulatory and compliance services provider Clarity Consulting Solutions Ltd

Ocorian, a market leader in asset servicing for asset managers, private and corporate clients, has acquired Clarity Consulting Solutions Ltd (“Clarity”), a UAE based regulatory and compliance services provider. This acquisition expands Ocorian’s regulatory and compliance offering in the region, a key area of strategic focus for the organisation. 

Clarity was founded in 2020 by Natalie Hodgins and Shamshad Khan. The founders together with partner Barry Cotter will join Ocorian and be part of the global regulatory and compliance solutions business which serves clients in London, the US, Channel Islands, Europe, Mauritius, Hong Kong and Singapore. 

Clarity’s services include support for licence applications, outsourced compliance solutions, bespoke reviews, and remediation support for financial services firms in both the Dubai International Financial Centre and Abu Dhabi Global Market freezones. 

Coupled with the recently acquired UAE based Fund Servicing license, Ocorian is well equipped to support global and regional asset managers throughout their lifecycle, with a full suite of services and dedicated support from entity establishment and licensing requirements through to full service fund accounting and administration services. 

Chantal Free, Chief Executive Officer at Ocorian, said: “This acquisition is tremendously exciting for us as we continue to expand our capabilities for asset managers and asset owners across the Middle East. The UAE is an increasingly important market for our clients, who look to us to support them with globally consistent, expert-led and technology-enabled solutions across the world.”  

She added: “In a region where experience and relationships are hugely important, I know that both Ocorian and Clarity clients will benefit from our significantly expanded offering. We welcome Natalie, Shamshad, Barry and all our new colleagues from Clarity to our multi-disciplinary team which delivers cross border services for asset managers, portfolio companies and high-net-worth families and individuals globally.” 

Natalie Hodgins, Partner and co-Founder at Clarity remarked: "We are delighted to be joining Ocorian as we know they share our commitment to serving clients as a trusted business partner. We are very proud of the business we have built and the work that our colleagues do.” 

Shamshad Khan, Partner and co-Founder at Clarity added: “We are confident that our clients will benefit from the expanded scope that we are now able to provide and that it will continue to be business as usual as Natalie, Barry and I will remain fully involved,. Our new partnership with Ocorian enables us to accelerate our growth ambitions and brings our clients and our team more opportunities as we access Ocorian’s wider network.”                                           

Ocorian continues to build its presence as a global asset servicing business. The acquisition of Clarity follows the acquisition of E78 Fund Solutions in the U.S. in August 2025.
Clarity will rebrand to Ocorian later this year.