Guernsey Top Offshore Base For London Listings
Friday, March 11, 2011

Guernsey is once again the market leader for the number of companies listed on the markets of the London Stock Exchange, and Carey Olsen has been confirmed as the leading offshore provider of such structures in the Hemscott Corporate Rankings Guide 2011 released this month.

According to Guernsey Finance, Guernsey’s total listings have reached almost double that of competitor jurisdictions Jersey, Isle of Man and the Cayman Islands (as at December 31, 2010). Guernsey’s listings on the LSE total 106 with the nearest competitor having 66.

Carey Olsen corporate partner Ben Morgan said of the figures:

“These results show that Guernsey continues to be the jurisdiction of choice for promoters and organizations looking to list vehicles on the LSE and reflect a general upsurge in the number of funds wishing to establish a foothold in Guernsey. I am confident that Guernsey’s robust and pragmatic regulatory regime, innovative investment structuring and our long-standing expertise in this area have contributed to the island’s stronger growth relative to competitor jurisdictions.”

“As a firm we continue to act for over half of the funds domiciled in Guernsey (Thompson Reuters Lipper Fitzrovia 2010) and across the Channel Islands we are the number one offshore provider of legal services to AIM- and LSE-listed companies and funds (Hemscott, March 2010).”

In another recent survey published by Private Equity News and State Street three-fifths (60%) of respondents said that they preferred to use Guernsey for private equity administration.

Welcoming the recognition, Peter Niven chief executive of Guernsey Finance said: “These figures are extremely positive news for Guernsey’s fund industry. In particular, the recent survey of chief financial officers highlights our continued position as the leading jurisdiction for private equity fund administration. We have built a strong reputation in this asset class during the last decade and this is yet further evidence of the value placed on our experience and expertise, which is unrivalled among European fund centres.”