Between Cyprus and Greece
Two markets, often mistaken for one
Cyprus and Greece are frequently spoken of as one market. In practice they are two. The language, the professional relationships and much of the commercial culture are shared; the companies register, the banking systems, the regulators and the courts are not. A group that treats the two as interchangeable usually discovers the difference at the point an approval is needed, a bank relationship is opened, or a structure is tested.
The work between the two markets runs in both directions, and each direction brings its own difficulties.
Greek groups in Cyprus
The route from Greece into Cyprus is usually structural rather than commercial. A holding company is placed above the group. A licensed vehicle is established so that activity can be supervised by CySEC and passported across the European Union. A finance or treasury platform is located where the group's banking relationships are already held. Each of these depends on substance: real governance, real people, and decisions genuinely taken in Cyprus. A structure that exists only on paper tends to raise more questions than it was designed to answer.
- Holding and group structures.
- Licensing and authorisation, including CySEC-regulated entities.
- Corporate governance, senior appointments and company secretarial.
- Bank relationships across the two markets.
- Regulatory correspondence and supervisory engagement.
Cypriot businesses in Greece
Going the other way is usually about scale. Greece is a larger market with larger financing requirements, a different banking system and its own formalities: the choice between a branch and a subsidiary, the governance of a sociétés anonymes, employment formalities, and sector approvals where they apply. The adjustment is rarely legal so much as operational: a structure that is sufficient for a Cypriot family business may not carry the weight of what the Greek market requires of it.
- Branch and subsidiary selection.
- Greek company law formalities and governance.
- Sector licensing and approvals, including for capital markets and credit.
- Refinancing and the local banking relationship.
- Franchise, distribution and agency arrangements.
One process across both markets
The practice is based in Athens and works across both. Where legal, tax or other specialist execution is required in either country, it is coordinated with local counsel and advisers within a single process, so that the structure, the approvals and the documentation are not left to be reconciled after the fact. Pella Demetriades is Cyprus Bar qualified and has spent her career across the two markets, most recently leading a licensed financial institution with a portfolio spanning both.