IFLR 1000
The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

	Mourant Ozannes
	Bedell Cristin Carey Olsen Ogier
	Appleby Voisin & Co Walkers
	Collas Crill Pinel O'Shea

The market suggests that there is a pick-up in new fund raising activities over the last six months in Jersey, after a two to three year lull period.

"Certainly in the last six months we see much stronger pipeline of activities, including new projects we were talking about a couple of years ago, which were put on hold," says one partner. This pick up is for one simple reason: "It's all about confidence," says one funds lawyer, "People have the opportunity to assess and regroup following the financial crisis, now they're ready to invest again."

Instead of new funds managers coming in, practitioners indicate that existing promoters have done most of the jobs. "In terms of new funds establishment in the market as a whole, there's a number of existing managers who launched new funds, and also there's a number of private-equity houses, in particular, who're currently in the process of raising new money,

Together with the private-equity funds, alternative funds remain market favourites among investors and practitioners have also seen a shift to emerging markets: "The areas we've seen activity is in the emerging markets, where we set up funds for investments in the region, we've seen activities in infrastructure and real estate," says one partner.

Fund migration from other jurisdictions to Jersey has also increased: "There has been a lot of enquiries that way, I suspect that's going to be a growing trend," says one partner and another lawyer agrees: "Compared to the year from 2009 to 2010, we see an increase of funds moving from Caribbean to the Channel Islands in the last 12 months."

The reasons behind this are essentially a need for regulation: "I think the reason for that is slightly better market perception in terms of regulation for the Channel Islands. Sometime funds managers need to provide a better regulated product to certain type of clients, and so they may choose to establish these funds in the Channel Islands rather than in the Caribbean."

Work coming from onshore funds centres has also increased: "What we see more is fund managers looking to migrate from onshore, that is the UK, to offshore, to places like Jersey, Guernsey or to Switzerland, so the actual managers themselves have relocated," says one partner.

A major talking point in the last few years has been the Alternative Investment Funds Managers Directive (AIFMD), proposed by the European Commission to cover AIFMs' regulatory framework within the EU, Jersey practitioners are quite positive towards its position in marketing Jersey-based funds into Europe. "I think there is now more certainty over the AIFMD, which results in confidence that Jersey and Guernsey will continue to benefit from private placement exemption, and in due course should be approved in jurisdictions which will benefit from passporting," explains one funds lawyer.

The expected increasing level of fee for funds establishment on the continent is also placing the Channel Islands in a better position: "One of the consequences of the directive is going to be to quite significantly increase clients' burden, and that might lead to onshore EU funds managers becoming more expensive to set up funds within the EU jurisdictions," says one partner. "We think once arrangers find out that how much more difficult would be, it will make Jersey relatively even more attractive than it has been."

Mourant Ozannes has been regarded as the best firm in Jersey in terms of its funds practice. Competitors are quite generous towards the firm's quantity and quality of work.... [more]

Mourant Ozannes has been regarded as the best firm in Jersey in terms of its funds practice. Competitors are quite generous towards the firm's quantity and quality of work. "We acknowledge that Mourant is probably the strongest competitor," says one, while another adds: "We all agree that Mourant should be in the top ranking, and if you look at the statistics, the largest [firm] is Mourant."

The merger between Mourant du Feu & Jeune and Ozannes last June produced differing views among its clients. While some believe the firm will benefit from the increased manpower, others don't expect much change: "It really depends on the individual, rather than the firm as a whole," says one.

Others were waiting for the dust to settle: "Mourant is OK, but going through a bit of merger, so I'd rather stay away until the merger settles down. Though I cannot think it's [the disruption] long term," says one client.

One of the biggest deals saw the team advise Axa private equity in relation to the acquisition of a $1.9 billion portfolio of limited partnership interests in private equity funds from Bank of America. It is considered as one of the largest secondary private transactions in history.

Elsewhere the market saw partner Jacqueline Richomme acting for Bank of America Merrill Lynch on the spin out to a new real estate private equity firm Peakside Capital, which has interests in the general and investment manager of the Bosphorus real estate fund I, worth €204 million. "Jacqueline is definitely a good funds lawyer and she has got a very good reputation," says one rival.

Another highlight saw partner Joel Hernandez heading the team, advising Henderson Global Investors on the Jersey aspects of the establishment of the Clof II Jersey property unit trust. The closed-ended trust is a dedicated feeder vehicle for Henderson's central London office fund II, targeting property investments principally in the City, Midtown and West End areas of London.

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Bedell Cristin's funds team is well regarded by clients: "Their legal knowledge is very strong, they were able to answer all the things that we wanted them to," says one client.The firm is also praised for its innovation: "They're quite good actually, we had a couple of issues in terms of migration we needed to address, and they came up with a couple of solutions, which enable us to progress," says a client.... [more]

Bedell Cristin's funds team is well regarded by clients: "Their legal knowledge is very strong, they were able to answer all the things that we wanted them to," says one client.

The firm is also praised for its innovation: "They're quite good actually, we had a couple of issues in terms of migration we needed to address, and they came up with a couple of solutions, which enable us to progress," says a client.

One notable deal saw partners Martin Paul and Tim Pearce, acting for Evans Randall in relation to the establishment of several multi-million pound real estate investment syndicates focused on City of London including the newly developed Drapers Gardens building in the City, worth £242.5 million.

"The person who leads the transactions is Tim [Pearce]," says one client, "He was very alive to commit commerciality, which we're trying to do." Another agrees: "Probably Tim is the best, and he is always business-minded."

One on-going deal sees partner Emily Haithwaite leading the team acting for Ethos Private Equity on the establishment of Ethos Fund VI, and its general partner Ethos Capital VI. This includes the authorisation of the partnership as a Jersey expert fund and the authorisation of the general partner as a fund services provider to the partnership.

Haithwaite also advised on the second fund of RREEF's pan European infrastructure series. The closed-ended fund will target approximately £3 billion in commitments from a global client base.

Another highlight saw Simon Pascoe, acting for Athlone professional investor fund in relation to its conversion from a protected cell company to an incorporated cell company. This involved the authorisation of the cells as a collective investment fund organised as a Jersey expert fund and the listing of five of the cells on the Channel Islands Stock Exchange.

The firm's cross isle presence is also praised by clients: "The firm's Guernsey office is fine, and they work very well with Jersey office. Coordination between Jersey and Guernsey is very good," says one.

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Carey Olsen increased its capacity last year with the hire of partner James Mulholland from O'Melveny & Myers, who specialises in international funds and corporate work with a particular interest emphasis on private equity.One deal highlight last year saw a team led by partner Robert Milner acting for GCP infrastructure investment on the establishment of a closed-ended unregulated fund which has achieved a listing on the LSE main market.... [more]

Carey Olsen increased its capacity last year with the hire of partner James Mulholland from O'Melveny & Myers, who specialises in international funds and corporate work with a particular interest emphasis on private equity.

One deal highlight last year saw a team led by partner Robert Milner acting for GCP infrastructure investment on the establishment of a closed-ended unregulated fund which has achieved a listing on the LSE main market. GCP has raised £40 million and aims to provide investors with a long-term return of 8% per annum by generating exposure to subordinated PFI debt or similar assets. It also demonstrates the usefulness of Jersey's unregulated exchange traded fund regime and the flexibility of Jersey corporate structures generally.

A major development at the firm is the retirement of lead partner Eve Kosofsky who the market sees as one of the firm's key funds partners: "Eve Kosofsky is certainly a leading individual in Carey Olsen who has reputation in funds," says one rival. The market will wait to see what succession the firm puts in place.

Last year Kosofsky acted for Investment Services UK, a London-based fixed income specialist, on the establishment of Amrah Global Opportunities Fund. The aim of the Jersey-based open-ended fund is to provide enhanced returns through access to a portfolio of fixed income securities principally in the emerging markets.

Kosofsky was also involved in another notable deal advising on the restructuring of Close Global Funds, Close Brother's offshore investment vehicle, lifting the suspension of the main fund's trading on the Channel Island Stock Exchange. The fund is a retail fund with 30 sub-funds.

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Ogier is marked as "one of the firms" that clients would definitely consider when they need Jersey advise. "In Jersey, we use Ogier more often, the Jersey funds tend to be property funds, and there are more property funds we set up in Jersey," says one client.... [more]

Ogier is marked as "one of the firms" that clients would definitely consider when they need Jersey advise. "In Jersey, we use Ogier more often, the Jersey funds tend to be property funds, and there are more property funds we set up in Jersey," says one client.

One of the biggest deals saw the team, headed by Dan Richards, advise on the establishment of Litorina IV as a materially equivalent non-domiciled expert fund. The SKr2.5 billion (£249 million) fund focuses on Swedish lower mid-market buyouts and is managed by a Jersey general partner vehicle Litorina Partner IV.

Another notable deal saw Christopher Byrne lead a team acting for EIM in respect of the creation of a customised hedge fund platform consisting of a series of eligible investor corporate vehicles. So far 14 funds have been launched and another six are scheduled to launch in the next few months. EIM specialises in analysing the performance of third party fund managers in order to best manage assets for institutional investors and high-net worth individuals.

Elsewhere partner Tim Morgan led a team, advising on the establishment of a closed-ended international oil and gas royalty fund structured as an expert fund to continue the oil and gas investment strategy. The fund's objective is to generate returns uncorrelated to equity markets from the successful commercialisation of oil and gas field. The targeting was worth $200 million, with an absolute limit of $250 million to be invested over the period of four years from first closing.

Morgan was again involved as the team advised Ashburton Emerging Markets Funds, a Jersey-domiciled open-ended fund. The initial class focuses on equity-related investments in China and India, by means of restructuring of an existing protected cell of Ashburton Global.

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One of the notable deals at Appleby last year saw the team led by partner Mark Lewis and Alex Last advising on the establishment of the Aberdeen Latin American Fund, which is the first UK-listed Latin American closed-ended fund with an income bias. The approximately £52 million fund highlights the growing importance of the Bric (Brazil Russia, India and China) economies for Jersey.... [more]

One of the notable deals at Appleby last year saw the team led by partner Mark Lewis and Alex Last advising on the establishment of the Aberdeen Latin American Fund, which is the first UK-listed Latin American closed-ended fund with an income bias. The approximately £52 million fund highlights the growing importance of the Bric (Brazil Russia, India and China) economies for Jersey.

Another highlight saw Andrew Weaver advising on the establishment of HV Holtzbrinck Ventures fund I, a private investment fund focused on investing in promising start-up companies within the new media sector, which had a first closing at €162 million last August.

Elsewhere he was involved in another outstanding mandate when the team advised Stenpark Management and Stenham European shopping centre fund on its €43.5 million capital raising through a rights issue; the team has then advised the subsequent spin out of each cell from its parental cell company, assisting these cells' migration to Guernsey. The total value of the deal was worth €119 million.

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Senior associate Adrian Odell is the head of the funds department at Collas Crill, a firm merged from Collas Day and Crill Canavan, and he has been involved in most of the notable deals related to funds establishment last year. One example of those is when the team acted for Herald fund services to develop a fund structure platform, which provides for the cost effective formation of underlying funds, and those funds may have different investment managers and a wide range of investment strategies, from closed-ended private equity funds to open-ended hedge funds.... [more]

Senior associate Adrian Odell is the head of the funds department at Collas Crill, a firm merged from Collas Day and Crill Canavan, and he has been involved in most of the notable deals related to funds establishment last year.

One example of those is when the team acted for Herald fund services to develop a fund structure platform, which provides for the cost effective formation of underlying funds, and those funds may have different investment managers and a wide range of investment strategies, from closed-ended private equity funds to open-ended hedge funds.

Odell has also advised on the establishment of a more than $300 million Eligible investor unregulated fund, a closed-ended limited partnership from Diamond Asset Advisors, investing in the diamond industry.

Another highlight saw the team acted for Horizon Capital Partners Property Development UK on the establishment and regulation of a closed-ended fund investing in real estate. The deal is worth more than $14 million.

Elsewhere the firm's funds work has also expanded into the film industry. The team, again led by Odell, advised on the establishment of a more than $5 million closed-ended expert fund from Osiris Fund Managers to invest in the sector.

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Pinel O'Shea established its office in Jersey last July, an independent law firm with a focus on investment funds, corporate, trusts and regulatory business. One of the major deals at the firm headed by name partners Andrew Pinel and Carl O'Shea was acting for AI Airports International (formerly Meinl Airports International) and PI Power International (formerly Meinl International Power).... [more]

Pinel O'Shea established its office in Jersey last July, an independent law firm with a focus on investment funds, corporate, trusts and regulatory business.

One of the major deals at the firm headed by name partners Andrew Pinel and Carl O'Shea was acting for AI Airports International (formerly Meinl Airports International) and PI Power International (formerly Meinl International Power). The key individuals behind Meinl Bank are the promoters of two Jersey open-ended unclassified funds investing in international airports and airport infrastructure projects, and energy projects respectively.

The team advised on both the above funds in regard to their restructuring and assisted UK and Austrian advisers the value of the deals for both AI Airports and PI Power International are €750 million and €450 million respectively and they are still open at time of writing.

The team has also been advising a Europe-based promoter group on the establishment of a €150 million Jersey unregulated fund as a Jersey limited partnership.

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