Atlas Bridge Wealth: Redefining Cross-Border Financial Planning for British Nationals in Portugal

Steve Thompson - Founder & CEO @ Atlas Bridge Wealth

November 25, 2025

The story behind why we built Atlas Bridge Wealth

Moving to Portugal isn’t simply a lifestyle decision, it’s also a financial one. For many British nationals, the appeal is obvious: year-round sunshine, lower living costs, beautiful coastlines, and a pace of life that feels healthier and more grounded.

Yet behind the dream often sits a complex financial reality. The moment you become a Portuguese tax resident, your UK structures, tax wrappers, pension plans and investment portfolios stop functioning the way they did back home.

And this is precisely where many expats fall into the same trap.

For years, British expatriates have been targeted by commission-driven salespeople offering glossy products that look appealing but fail to address real cross-border needs. These one-size-fits-all solutions rarely account for how UK and Portuguese tax systems interact, how double-tax treaties should be applied, or how to structure retirement income properly. As a result, many people end up with non-compliant portfolios, pensions placed in unsuitable wrappers, or plans that ignore inheritance tax exposure entirely.

At Atlas Bridge Wealth, we believed there was a better way—so we built it.

Why Atlas Bridge Wealth Was Created

The founder, Steve Thompson, has spent more than three decades advising and working with high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth families across the UK, Middle East, and Europe. With Chartered-level UK qualifications, deep cross-border technical knowledge, and a long-standing reputation for integrity, Steve saw a gap in the market: expatriates in Portugal were not receiving UK-standard, fiduciary-style financial planning.

“There was plenty of advice available, but much of it was transactional, product-focused, and often driven by commissions. What was missing was a boutique advisory firm centred on quality and long-term planning.”

Atlas Bridge Wealth was launched to offer exactly that.

“Our philosophy is simple: Clients want a partner in their financial life who understands jurisdictions, can navigate tax, pensions, investments, and succession seamlessly and bring all of this together for them”

Who we work with

Our clients are individuals and families, typically with £1m-£2m, or more, which includes pensions, property and investment accounts and their financial lives span multiple jurisdictions. Many are approaching or already in retirement, looking to secure predictable, tax-efficient income under Portuguese residency. Others are entrepreneurs managing multi-million-pound business sales, liquidity events, or complex pension arrangements. Others still are professionals relocating to Portugal for lifestyle reasons but unsure how their UK assets will be treated here.

They don’t want guesswork. They want a structured, compliant financial plan that works not only today but for the decades ahead.

Many clients come to us with important questions, such as “How do I move my assets out of the UK?”, “when does it make sense to start building a Portuguese estate?”, “do I need a separate Portuguese Will for assets held here?”, “if I set up a company in Portugal, does that give me the right to work here and what are the tax implications?” These are common concerns, and the answers depend on residency status, asset location, and long-term objectives.

Quite often we see portfolios structured entirely for the UK, tax-inefficient, non-compliant, or exposed to unnecessary risk in Portugal. Others have pensions that need careful sequencing to avoid over-taxation. Some have UK property or business interests that require strategic planning. And nearly all have questions around UK inheritance tax.

“We specialise in untangling these issues.”

What makes Atlas Bridge Wealth different?

The difference starts with how we are compensated. We operate a UK-style, fee-based model, which is:

• No hidden fees

• No product commissions disguised as advice

• No pressure selling

We start by charging a one-time €1,500 fee for a comprehensive, financial report. This includes retirement analysis, tax alignment, investment structuring and a full roadmap for implementation. Should clients choose to proceed with our recommendations, this fee is deducted from the final implementation cost.

Our clients appreciate this approach because it is transparent, predictable, and aligned with their interests, not ours.

But the fee model is only one part of what sets us apart.

A boutique experience

We deliberately keep our client numbers low so we can maintain a high-quality, relationship-led service. Our focus is, and always will be, quality over quantity.

Each client receives:

• Annual strategy reviews

• Proactive tax updates

• Portfolio rebalancing and monitoring

• Hands-on support through life milestones

We see ourselves as partners in our clients’ financial lives, not product distributors.

Why British nationals in Portugal need specialist advice

Many expatriates assume their UK financial adviser can continue supporting them after relocating abroad, but in most cases, this is not possible. Once a client becomes an EU resident, most UK advisers lose the regulatory permissions required to give cross-border advice, and many do not understand Portuguese tax rules, or how UK pensions are treated once drawn in Portugal.

Likewise, many EU-based advisers are not equipped to navigate UK pension legislation, UK inheritance tax, trust planning or the Statutory Residence Test, all essential when advising British nationals moving overseas.

Atlas Bridge Wealth bridges this gap.

We operate at the intersection of both systems, delivering UK-standard advice through an adviser who is licensed to operate in the EU and experienced in the UK–Portugal cross-border environment.

To provide fully integrated planning, we also work closely with specialist tax lawyers in Lisbon and collaborate with immigration partners SunCap Visa, ensuring clients receive coordinated financial, tax and residency advice within one cohesive, compliant framework.

The Atlas Bridge Wealth promise

We exist for those who value structure, expertise, and long-term thinking. For those who want a trusted partner, not a salesperson. For those who understand that the decisions they make today will shape their lives for decades.

If you want to work with a firm built on UK standards, true transparency, and deep cross-border expertise then get in touch today.

steve@atlasbridgewealth.com / www.atlasbridgewealth.com