What 1st Contact does

1st Contact, operating under the legal name Sable International, is a London-headquartered private professional services firm founded in 1995 that provides cross-border citizenship, immigration, tax, accounting, foreign exchange, wealth management, education placement, and offshore property services. The firm primarily serves individual expatriates — with a strong concentration in the South Africa–United Kingdom corridor — alongside corporate clients (NHS Trusts, UK Independent Schools, universities, IFAs and family offices) and high-net-worth families relocating internationally. It operates 10 offices across eight countries (United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Mauritius, and Portugal) and runs 14 distinct business divisions under wholly-owned sub-brands including 1st Contact Visas, Sable Wealth, Currency Solved, Relocate Privé, Sable Guardians, and Sable Partners.

The firm generates revenue primarily through professional services fees across its immigration, tax, accounting, wealth management, and education divisions, with transaction-fee and exchange-rate-margin revenue added through its foreign exchange business (formerly FX Capital, merged in 2017, with annual trade volumes cited at over R4 billion). Pricing is not publicly disclosed; services are scoped and quoted per engagement. Go-to-market is hybrid: direct-to-consumer via regional offices, website/SEO, content marketing, webinars, and referrals, complemented by the Sable Partners B2B2C referral channel with IFAs, accountants, and legal professionals. The underlying technology is intentionally minimal — a client portal for document exchange and an online forex trading platform — with the moat built on licensed human expertise (IAA-registered advisers, Chartered Accountants, Certified Financial Planners) rather than proprietary software. Approximately one-third of the 270+ staff are reported to hold equity in the group, indicating a broad employee-ownership model with no disclosed external institutional investor.

Name

1st Contact

Legal name

Sable International

Website

https://1stcontact.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cross-border Immigration and Financial Advisory

NAICS

Legal Services (5411), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

International Affairs (9721), Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Mobility & Cross-Border Tax/Immigration Advisory (THACAKAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Business Visa Application & Processing Services (THACAKAA), Corporate Visa, Immigration & Compliance Travel Services (THAKACAJ), Immigration, Visa & Work Authorization Support (HSAKAJAF), Immigration Legal Services & Representation (Law Firms) (THACAKAF)

Keywords

• Immigration advisory services
• Cross-border tax services
• Forex currency transfers
• Wealth management advisory
• Study abroad consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Citizenship and Immigration Services: Fee-based professional services for visa applications, citizenship processing, residency-by-investment programs, and immigration compliance. Services provided to individuals and corporate clients for UK, Australia, Europe, and other countries.
2. Tax and Accounting Services: Contractor accounting, limited company services, personal tax returns, South African tax services including tax emigration. Fee-based advisory and compliance services.
3. Forex and Currency Services: Cross-border money transfers and currency exchange services. Revenue generated through transaction fees and exchange rate margins on international money transfers.
4. Wealth Management Services: Financial planning, investment advisory, portfolio construction, retirement planning, and mortgage advice for UK, South African, and international residents.
5. Education Services: Study abroad consulting, university placement services, and sports recruitment services for students seeking education opportunities globally.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

1st Contact (operating as Sable International) is a cross-border financial and immigration advisory firm that helps individuals and businesses navigate international relocation, citizenship applications, tax compliance, currency transfers, and wealth management across multiple jurisdictions including the UK, South Africa, Australia, Mauritius, and Portugal. Services are delivered through 10 regional offices by qualified chartered accountants, registered immigration advisers, and certified financial planners.

Product overview

1st Contact (also operating as Sable International) is a cross-border financial and immigration solutions provider offering a comprehensive portfolio of services organized into six core areas: Citizenship & Immigration Services, Financial Services, Corporate Services, Education Services, Offshore Property, and Sable Guardians. The Citizenship & Immigration division handles visa applications, citizenship-by-investment programs, and relocation services across UK, Australia, Europe, and Caribbean nations. Financial Services encompasses forex transfers, wealth management, contractor accounting, and tax services (UK and South African). Corporate Services provides business immigration support including UK licensed sponsor services, skilled work visas, and education sector compliance. Education Services includes study abroad placement and sports recruitment for US college and UK university sports. The company also offers offshore property investment and child protection services through Sable Guardians. The Sable Partners program enables partnerships with IFAs, family offices, accountants, and legal professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sable Partners: Partner network for IFAs, family offices, accountants, and legal professionals providing international wealth, tax, and forex expertise
• Relocate Privé
• Sable Guardians
• Currency Solved
• Sable Wealth

Products and services

• Citizenship & Immigration Services
• Financial Services (Tax & Accounting)
• Forex and Currency Transfer Services
• Wealth Management (Sable Wealth)
• Corporate Services / Business Immigration
• Education / Study Abroad Services
• Offshore Property Investment Services
• Relocate Privé (Bespoke Relocation)
• Sable Guardians (Child Protection)
• Sable Partners (Referral Program)

Quantifiable outcome

• 89.6 Net Promoter Score
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Sable PartnerscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSable Partners program for IFAs, family offices, accountants, and legal professionals. Partners refer clients for specialist cross-border solutions in international wealth, tax, forex, and immigration. Program enables professional advisors to offer comprehensive services without overhead, unlocking new value for their clients.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sanne Group: Global provider of corporate, fund administration, and family office services across multiple jurisdictions. Comparable to 1st Contact's Sable Wealth and cross-border advisory practices for HNW individuals, but with a heavier institutional focus.
• TMF Group: Large global provider of corporate services, accounting, tax, HR, and payroll across 80+ jurisdictions. Overlaps with 1st Contact's tax, accounting, and cross-border advisory services, but at significantly broader portfolio scale and primarily serves multinational corporates rather than individuals.
• Withers: Global law firm with a large private client and immigration practice spanning UK, US, Asia, and Europe. Overlaps with 1st Contact's high-net-worth immigration, citizenship-by-investment, and cross-border wealth structuring capabilities for global families.

Direct peers

• Newland Chase: Global immigration and visa services firm specializing in corporate immigration, global mobility, and visa processing for multinational employers. Direct overlap with 1st Contact's business immigration, skilled worker visas, and citizenship/residency services across multiple jurisdictions.
• Smith Stone Walters: UK-based immigration law firm focused on corporate immigration, sponsor licence compliance, and skilled worker visas. Comparable to 1st Contact's UK business immigration division led by Darren Faife and Steve Paxton, with similar B2B employer clients and Home Office compliance specialism.
• Altair Global: Global relocation and immigration services company offering corporate relocation, visa and immigration support, and destination services. Closely comparable to 1st Contact's Relocate Privé premium relocation offering and cross-border mobility solutions for corporate clients.
• Crown World Mobility: International relocation and immigration services firm providing end-to-end assignment management, visa/immigration support, and destination services. Comparable to 1st Contact's integrated cross-border relocation with emphasis on corporate and high-net-worth markets.
• Hawksford: Provider of corporate, family office, and immigration services across multiple jurisdictions, including UK, Jersey, Singapore, and South Africa. Directly comparable on multi-jurisdictional services model and South African cross-border expertise overlap with 1st Contact.
• Kingsley Napley: UK law firm offering immigration, family, and private client legal services with notable expertise in complex nationality law and global mobility. Comparable to 1st Contact's specialist immigration law capability led by founders like Philip Gamble with Home Office Citizenship Directorate background.

Emerging players

• FinGlobal: South African financial emigration specialist focused on tax clearance, currency transfers, and cross-border financial advisory for South Africans emigrating. Highly comparable to 1st Contact's South African tax emigration and Currency Solved forex services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SableInternational
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1st-contact
• Xx.com/1stContact

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles25 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 1st Contact