Treasury Committee Calls For Evidence In Private Equity Inquiry

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

22 March 2007

Following the Treasury Committee's recent decision to launch an inquiry into growing private equity activity in the UK, under the theme of ‘Transparency in Financial Markets and the Structure of UK Plc', it has invited written evidence on this matter by Wednesday 9 May.

As part of this inquiry into private equity funds, the Committee has stated that it would welcome evidence on the following three areas:

The regulatory environment

• Is the current regulatory regime for private equity funds suitable?
• Is there sufficient transparency on the activities, objectives and structure of private equity funds for all relevant interested parties?
• Has there been evidence of excessive leverage in recent transactions and what systemic risks arise in consequence?
• What are the effects of the current corporate status of private equity funds, including both their domicile and ownership structure?

Taxation

• Is the current taxation regime for private equity funds and investee firms appropriate?
  

The economic context

• Are developments in the environment and structure of private equity affecting investments in the long-term?
• To what factors, including the current macroeconomic context and position in the economic cycle, is the current rise of private equity attributable?
• What are the economic advantages and disadvantages of a firm being owned by private equity funds as opposed to being publicly listed?

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