Guernsey Finance

Expert contributions from:

• Fiona Le Poidevin, Guernsey Finance
• Lisa Haggarty, Deutsche Bank
• Mark Douglas, Mercator
• Gavin Farrell & Elliott Doucy, Mourant Ozannes
• Frances Watson, Ogier
• Patricia White, Legis

Mourant Ozannes has opened an office in Hong Kong to provide clients and intermediaries with access to the firm's offshore legal services in an Asian time zone.

The office opening has been timed to coincide with celebrations for Chinese New Year, giving Mourant Ozannes' Asian office an auspicious start date in 2012 - the Year of the Dragon.

BlueCrest Capital is to list a feeder fund for its BlueTrend strategy, a systematic fund that trades across 150 global markets, on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) this March.

Its initial public offering will provide access to the private $13.6bn BlueTrend strategy via a newly-established Guernsey incorporated closed-ended fund.

Alcentra Limited, one of Europe’s largest and longest established credit managers, which is majority owned by BNY Mellon (95 per cent stock holding), is launching a new leveraged loan and high yield bond fund.

Guernsey service providers Carey Olsen and Heritage International Fund Managers Limited (HIFM) have acted for Better Capital Limited on its innovative conversion into a Protected Cell Company (PCC).

Better Capital is an existing Guernsey closed-ended fund listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The conversion to a PCC sees the interests of the existing listed fund forming the 2009 cell and the launch of its second cell, the 2012 cell.

BDO Limited, an audit and accountancy firm based in St Peter Port in Guernsey, has joined forces with BDO LLP, the sixth largest accountancy and business advisory firm in the UK.

Guernsey remains home to more non-UK entities listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) than any other jurisdiction globally, according to figures from the market authority.

LSE data shows that at the end of December 2011 there were 108 Guernsey-incorporated entities listed on either the Main Market, the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), the Specialist Fund Market (SFM) or as ‘Trading Only’.