Isle Of Man Establishes Presence In The Heart Of The City

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

03 February 2006

The Isle of Man Treasury has officially launched its new City of London offices, the first off-Island premises to be opened by Isle of Man Government that will focus specifically on business development, and are designed to forge closer links with business in one of the world's most important financial centres.

The offices are available, on application to Isle of Man Finance, for use by Isle of Man businesses to host meetings and have a centre in London from which to liaise with City-based and wider international contacts. Isle of Man Finance is also using the offices as its London base.

Richard Hay, Partner at law firm Stikeman Elliott, has hailed the opening of the office at No. 1 Cornhill, in the heart of the City, as a significant step forward for the Island’s business community, which will lead to enhanced trading opportunities for Manx business.

"The establishment of the Isle of Man office here in the square mile will enhance the Island's visibility in the world's key financial services market place. London institutions will see this move as welcome evidence of Isle of Man's growing capacity and accessibility," he noted.

Treasury Minister Allan Bell believes that the development of closer links with the City will also help the Isle of Man sustain its impressive track record of economic growth witnessed in recent years.

“We have heard a lot about the Celtic Tiger - the success of the Irish economy over the last few years. It’s fair to say that the Isle of Man could be described as the Celtic Tiger Cub. Over the last ten years our economic growth has averaged some 7.6%, in real terms year on year," observed Mr Bell.

"This year it is running at 6.3%, some three times higher than the European Union average. We are one of the most successful economies in Europe and today marks a further important step in the economic development of the Isle of Man," he added.

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