Jersey Rated Top Funds Jurisdiction In UK Poll

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

28 March 2005

A Legal Week survey published last week has named Jersey as the jurisdiction of choice for offshore private equity and property funds among UK law firms.

The results of the Insight survey, which was carried out in association with leading law firm Bedell Cristin, show that Jersey has also built up a formidable reputation for hedge funds, coming second only to the Cayman Islands as the jurisdiction of choice. Jersey legislation was changed only last year to make it easier for hedge funds to be set up in the Island.

The survey canvassed the views of specialist funds advisers at some of the UK’s top law firms and in-house funds teams. It was designed to assess the key factors which guided these advisers in their choice of jurisdiction for three specific types of specialist offshore funds (property, hedge and private equity funds) and determine which jurisdiction they would recommend for each one.

Sixty-eight per cent (68%) of respondents ranked Jersey as the leading jurisdiction for private equity funds and sixty-four per cent (64%) said they would recommend the Island as the best venue for property funds. Legal Week says the survey findings put Jersey in an ‘elite group of offshore jurisdictions with the right qualities to attract funds work’.

Martin Paul, Head of the Investment Funds and Private Equity Team at Bedell Cristin says: “It is not surprising that Jersey has risen to the top of the pile when you look at what is influencing the choice of jurisdiction for funds. The top three influences are a mature legal system, political stability, and the high quality of both professional services and the local regulatory regime, all of which mark Jersey out as an obvious choice.”

The majority of respondents in all three areas that were surveyed said that business was going to increase over the next year; seventy-two per cent (72%) for hedge funds, sixty-eight per cent (68%) for property funds and fifty-eight per cent (58%) for private equity funds. “This should give everyone who works in the Island’s finance industry great confidence for the future,” says Mr Paul.

“This survey is a good way of gauging how one of Jersey’s key markets perceives the Island and to find out exactly what influences the choice of offshore lawyer or service provider”, says Michael Richardson, a partner at Bedell Cristin. “More than ninety per cent of respondents said that reputation and personal recommendation were the main factors, and the way to secure both of those is to continue to offer the kind of expert and efficient service which is driving Bedell Cristin’s current success.”

The results have pleased Jersey Finance Ltd, whose chief executive Phil Austin says: “We know there is a huge wealth of expertise and knowledge here in the Island but it is always reassuring to have it independently confirmed, and in this case by the very people who use Jersey as a jurisdiction. The survey, commissioned by Bedell Cristin, has resulted in a positive affirmation of Jersey’s reputation.”

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