Guernsey corporate and finance update Q2 2024 NAV Facilities for Guernsey Funds: What’s the noise about? As late as 2022, the net asset value (“NAV”) credit facility was seen as a relatively underutilised sector of the fund financing product offering. However, the interest and demand for NAV facilities has sharply increased with sponsor borrowers wishing to take advantage of the benefits that NAV facilities can offer in the current fund raising and M&A environment ...
Whether CMC of a Guernsey company is exercised in the UK is question of fact. This briefing summarises UK tax residence points arising out of UK tax case law, focussing in particular on the most recent case of Development Securities (No. 9) Ltd and other v HMRC2, and also provides some practical guidance on how Guernsey companies can minimise UK CMC risks when there is no intention to make the company UK tax resident ...
Voluntary Winding Up A Guernsey company may be voluntarily wound up by means of a special resolution of its shareholders (passed by a majority of 75%). A copy of the special resolution must be filed at the Guernsey Companies Registry within 30 days who will publish notice on its website. A copy of the special resolution must also be sent to the Guernsey Financial Services Commission ("GFSC") within 30 days of the special resolution being passed if the company is supervised by the GFSC ...
Guernsey listed funds In addition, Guernsey has for some time been the domicile of choice for non-UK companies listing on the main market of the London Stock Exchange (“LSE”) and the Alternative Investment Market (“AIM”) ...
What is ATAD III? In December 2021, the European Commission (“EC”) published its proposed Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (known as “ATAD III”). ATAD III is intended to discourage the misuse of shell companies within the European Union (“EU”). The Directive is aimed at EU-resident entities which claim benefits under double taxation treaties and other EU Directives, but which lack a minimum level of economic substance ...
Alternative Dispute Resolution in Jersey In Jersey the courts do not experience the same delays as the English system. This year, in Jersey the family court has moved to a new location at International House – which has been specially designed to encourage parties to settle their matters outside the court. The new court provides various comfortable meeting rooms and parties are encouraged by the Registrars to attend court early to see if a resolution can be found ...
OECD's minimum global corporate tax The most significant recent development in the arena of taxation internationally must be the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development's (the OECD) members' agreement in late 2021, to ensure that multinational enterprises (MNEs) with global revenue above EUR 750 million will be subject to a 15% tax rate ...
Historically, the jurisdictions of choice for this US$1.2 trillion market have been the Cayman Islands and Ireland ...
We are seeing renewed interest in these types of structures – particularly from fund managers who have not previously targeted Shariah investors - as (i) sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and HNW individuals from the Middle East and South East Asia diversify into alternative assets like private equity (PE), and (ii) traditional or "western" managers look to expand into the Shariah market by establishing bespoke feeder or parallel funds in Guernsey which offer a Shariah complian
Recent upheavals sweeping the globe, including significant changes in social and familial structures and technological, political and economic shifts, have quite obviously also stoked the fire of underlying family tensions with incendiary results. Often the next generation fails to conform to the expectations of the wealth-originating generation and their goals and ambitions can diverge quite significantly ...
Flexibility in Bermuda trusts afforded by Section 47 What is Section 47 Section 47 of Bermuda’s Trustee Act 1975 provides trustees of Bermuda trusts with a very useful and flexible tool for varying trusts in the absence of the necessary power either in the trust instrument or otherwise under the relevant legislation. Trusts not governed by Bermuda law can be migrated to Bermuda to take advantage of section 47 and, in such cases, it may be desirable to appoint new trustees in Bermuda ...
The new guides provide the latest legal information on litigation funding, initiating a lawsuit, pre-trial proceedings, discovery, injunctive relief, trials and hearings, settlement, damages and judgment, appeals, costs, alternative dispute resolution and (ADR) arbitration. To access our guides please click on the jurisdictions below: Bermuda British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Guernsey Jersey To access the complete series of guides, please click here ...
Five aspiring lawyers begin training programme with Carey Olsen Guernsey Tom Andrews, who was previously working as a paralegal within Carey Olsen's corporate team, also begins his SQE course this September in the firm's London office and will work exclusively on corporate matters ...
Current Regulatory Regimes Bermuda was one of the first jurisdictions to introduce sector specific laws and regulations relating to the issuance of ‘digital assets’ and the provision of ’digital asset business’ services. Bermuda's regime regulates the activities of issuers and services providers rather than the technology or digital assets themselves ...
Having been asked to manage restrictions on mobility, changes in investment portfolios, and risk appetite and to consider more closely matters of mortality and succession, many family offices have found themselves in uncharted territory ...
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"13506","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"311","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"480"}}]] Definitions: "LCF Law" means The Lending, Credit and Finance (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2022. "Notice" means the Guernsey Financial Services Commission's Notice with respect to the disapplication of the requirement to hold a licence under section 40 of the Lending, Credit and Finance (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2022 ...
The new legislation has: created an additional type of winding up of an insolvent company that can be initiated by a creditor and ordered by the court; and redefined the eligibility criteria for appointment as a liquidator in specified circumstances (including liquidator appointments under the new court ordered creditors’ winding up procedure) ...
Establishment of Bermuda’s Corporate Income Tax Agency Following the enactment of Bermuda’s Corporate Income Tax Act (the “CIT Act”) in December 2023, in July 2024, the Government of Bermuda passed the Corporate Income Tax Agency Act (the “Agency Act”) which, among other things, (i) establishes the Bermuda Corporate Income Tax Agency (the “Agency”); (ii) sets out the functions and powers of the Agency with respect to administration of the CIT Ac
The development of Bermuda's insurance regime is a result of prevailing market conditions and considerations. Recent enhancements to Bermuda's insurance regime have focused on commercial insurers (particularly in the life sector) and this trend looks to continue through and beyond 2023. That said, the BMA recently updated the Insurance Code of Conduct (the Code) in September 2022 ...
This trend is worth monitoring, and undoubtedly reflective of generational change as those who set up companies or transferred interests into these jurisdictions decades ago pass on and leave their families fighting for control of the assets they have left behind. A helpful new judgement from the Easter Caribbean Court of Appeal (the Appeal Court) handed down on 23 March 2022, provides helpful further insight into family disputes over wills ...
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has this morning handed down a landmark judgment in which it has ruled that the EU's Fourth AML Directive (EU2015/849) whereby Member States must ensure that the information held on beneficial ownership registers is accessible to any member of the general public is INVALID as being a breach of Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union ...
This creates a discretionary exemption regime similar to that in the Regulation of Fiduciaries, Administration Businesses and Company Directors, etc (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020. This is in addition to the list of class exemptions which the Commission has published in its Notice with respect to the disapplication of the requirement to hold a licence under section 40 of the Lending, Credit and Finance (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2022 ...
Directors' duties on the insolvency of a BVI company At all times, directors of a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (the “BVI”) need to be aware of their role and responsibilities as director, in particular where the company is insolvent or of doubtful solvency ...
Deal round-up: Schemes of Arrangement in Guernsey This surge in takeovers reflects a general market trend for companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (“LSE”) over this same period and it is no surprise that Guernsey companies have been affected, given that Guernsey is the second most common jurisdiction for companies listed on the LSE, second only to the UK itself. The takeovers have been a mixture of public-to-private deals and consolidations by way of a share exchange ...
Cyber reporting requirements for Bermuda insurers, insurance managers and insurance intermediaries following the CrowdStrike faulty software update Key reporting obligations Prompt notification Bermuda insurers, insurance managers and insurance intermediaries (including brokers, agents and insurance marketplace providers) (each, a "Registered Person") must forthwith notify the BMA upon coming to the knowledge, or having a reason to believe, that a cyber reporting event has occurred ...
