Chris Pace, who founded Global Capital in 1987, has sold his final 5.04% shareholding, marking the end of his links with the company.

The group was set up as "a one-stop service point for individual and corporate financial service requirements, with a special focus on financial management, fund advisory, life insurance, private medical insurance, insurance broking and property".

Mr Pace had overseen the listing of the group on the Malta Stock Exchange in 2001, and in 2003 it also saw an upswing in its fortunes when it merged with the British American group, which held the Bupa agency in Malta.

However, the group’s finances took a battering in the global financial crisis, by which time it had invested heavily in overseas property. Its portfolio included a 5,000 square metre site in Croatia, properties in Sofia and Varna in Bulgaria, Barcelona, and Buenos Aires, as well as a castle in Rome.

In July 2008, there was a shake-up of senior positions in the group. Nicholas Ashford-Hodges was appointed group chairman, replacing Mr Pace who retained his post as non-executive director till 2011.

In 2015, Italian company EIP, owned by Paolo Catalfamo and Andrea Zitelli, bought out the 48.5 per cent Mauritius shareholding in Global Capital.