Service · Structures
Holding structures, foundations, and legally robust arrangements for families protecting multi-generational wealth in Slovakia and the EU.
Many families accumulate significant assets over years without ever formalising the legal architecture that should surround them. Business interests, real property, investment portfolios, and cash holdings sit in different names, entities, and jurisdictions — without a governing framework to manage conflicts, facilitate transfers, or protect against unexpected claims. Atelier of Edinburgh works with qualified Slovak and EU legal counsel to design holding vehicles, foundation-like arrangements, and family investment structures that bring coherence to complex asset pictures. The process begins with an asset map — a clear inventory of what you own, how it is titled, and where the structural gaps lie. From there, we coordinate the design and legal implementation of the appropriate structure, typically over three to six months.
Each structure has a specific legal basis and is matched to client circumstances, not applied as a template.
A Slovak s.r.o. holding vehicle consolidates ownership of operating businesses, investment portfolios, and real property under a single managed entity. It simplifies governance, enables dividend management, and creates a clean boundary between personal and business assets.
For families where multiple generations have or will have economic interests, a formally documented investment structure — with a governance charter and defined decision-making rules — prevents disputes and enables systematic wealth transfer over time.
While Slovakia does not have a direct equivalent of a private foundation in the Liechtenstein or Austrian sense, certain charitable and non-commercial foundation structures under Slovak law can achieve similar asset-protection and governance goals for long-horizon families.
For clients with interests in multiple EU states, we coordinate structures that respect Slovak tax residency while addressing reporting obligations in Austria, the Czech Republic, or Germany. Every cross-border arrangement includes a written compliance checklist.
Atelier of Edinburgh is a financial advisory firm, not a law firm. We design the strategic logic of structures and coordinate their implementation with regulated Slovak and EU lawyers — but the legal documents are produced and validated by qualified legal professionals. This distinction matters: our role is to ensure the structure serves your financial and protection objectives, while counsel ensures its legal validity. We do not advise on tax optimisation schemes that lack genuine economic substance, and we do not design arrangements intended primarily to conceal beneficial ownership. What we provide is a clearly documented, legally grounded structure that you can explain to a regulator or a family member with equal confidence.
“After thirty years of building a business and buying properties in three countries, I had never formally structured any of it. The asset map Atelier of Edinburgh produced in 2021 was uncomfortable to read — but it was accurate, and the holding structure we set up in the following six months finally made everything manageable.”
— Tomáš B., Žilina
The asset mapping session takes sixty minutes and produces a written overview of your current structural position — with no obligation to proceed.