Businesslife's City of London Edition, exploring the growing relationship between the financial districts of London and the Channel Islands, is now available online.
The Channel Islands are an increasingly strong and stable partner and financial hub of choice for City of London financiers and UK wealth holders, as the City emerges from the turbulence caused by Brexit and the pandemic.
That’s the core message to emerge from the latest issue of Businesslife – a City of London special edition available from today.
The magazine explores how Channel Islands investment vehicles and wealth managers are increasingly attracting City firms and investors as they look for greater stability and flexibility.
Jon Watkins, Editor-in-Chief of Businesslife, said: “London has been battered by the double-whammy of Brexit and Covid-19 uncertainty – and firms are looking to invest their and their clients’ funds in a stable, flexible and growth-oriented jurisdiction.
“This issue of Businesslife explores how the Channel Islands are meeting that need, and how they can help their UK counterpart on its mission to become ‘Global Britain’.
“As such, the issue is packed with analysis of key sectors in the islands, along with innovative ways City organisations can exploit the opportunities they provide.”
Soaring sectors
We explore, for example, how the Channel Islands have become a jurisdiction of choice for UK real estate investment trusts (REITs).
Earlier this year, The International Stock Exchange (TISE), the islands’ stock exchange, announced that it had become the listing venue for more than 40% of all UK REITs – 37 out of a total of 90 – with eight joining the exchange by the end of May.
The reason, according to our article, is the islands’ ever-growing body of expertise among lawyers, administrators and other professional advisers.
“Jersey and Guernsey are attractive for institutional investors. We have flexible companies, law and regulatory regimes, and these are well respected jurisdictions that are familiar to the London market,” one leading industry figure tells us.
VC is for victory
It’s not just in niche financial vehicles that the Channel Islands are offering vital opportunities for London financiers and wealth managers looking for stability and opportunity.
They are also playing an increasingly crucial role in the thriving private equity and venture capital markets, for example.
According to the Jersey Financial Services Commission, PE and VC funds under administration grew 21% year-on-year in 2020 to £164.6bn.
In addition, almost 100 new Jersey Private Funds were registered, bringing the total to more than 400, most of which are Jersey-domiciled structures.
Global partners
This issue of BL explores these – as well as other – opportunities for the Channel Islands and the City of London to work together to deliver increasingly diverse, flexible and fruitful investment and wealth management services as they move out of the shadows of Brexit and the height of the pandemic.
Those opportunities could certainly prove fruitful – not least for the City.
As Channel Islands-based consultant Geoff Cook explains: “If the vision of Global Britain is to succeed, Britain must be proactive in building a platform to launch its new global ambition – a platform requiring trade horizons to be reset, partnerships to be forged and relationships in new and existing markets to be deepened. These are all areas where the Channel Islands have experience.”
Elsewhere in this issue…
We also look at:
• The potential impact on the Channel Islands of a global tax rate for major corporations
• The rise of special interest acquisition companies (SPACs)
• How Guernsey and London are partnering to drive green and sustainable investing
• Why female entrepreneurs struggle to raise finance when their firms often perform better
• Credit Suisse (Channel Islands) CEO Glen Tonks on his plans to transform the organisation
Click here to view our City of London Edition online.
The physical version of the magazine will be available from its usual distribution points shortly.