International financial services group STM is planning to expand its senior staff as the firm seeks to grow through acquisition.

In a trading update today the company, which operates an International SIPP as well as providing other financial services, said it was actively looking for acquisitions.

The owner of UK SIPP provider London & Colonial said it was scouring the market for “earnings enhancing acquisitions of pension administration businesses in both the international pensions market, as well as that of the UK domestic market.”

Senior staff will be expanded with the company looking for a chief operating officer to enable the chief executive Alan Kentish to focus on strategy, as well as a new chairman and additional non-executive director. A new group internal auditor has already been appointed.

In terms of business in the first half of 2018 the company said this had “progressed in line with management’s expectations, underpinned by the group’s underlying recurring revenue stream and a steady flow of new business applications, particularly with regards to the International SIPP.”

STM said the second half of 2018 was on track to achieve management expectations.

The integration of the Harbour acquisition has progressed according to plan with the full integration into STM Malta expected to be completed by end of August, the company said.

Earlier this year a skilled persons review in Gibraltar called for a raft of compliance and governance improvements at the firm which saw its chief executive Alan Kentish arrested in the territory last year. STM said at the time it welcomed the recommendations of the Skilled Persons review and some measures had already been implemented.

The review was carried out by Deloitte for certain STM Gibraltar-regulated businesses and the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission. STM has offices in Gibraltar, the UK and other jurisdictions.

STM, which reported record profits for 2017, hit the headlines after group chief executive Alan Kentish was arrested in Gibraltar following allegations related to a tax dispute involving a former client and alleged failure to disclose the proceeds of crime. The arrest was related to the client and not STM, the company said.

The arrest came two years after STM itself filed two Suspicious Activity Reports to the Royal Gibraltar Police during the tax dispute with a client. Mr Kentish was later released without charge and was fully backed by the STM board throughout the saga.