Writing for Asset Servicing Times, Carey Olsen Partner Chris Anderson updates on trends and issues facing the investment funds sector in Guernsey in the COVID-19 environment.
Debt
The pandemic has taken a heavy toll on business. For many, particularly those in the retail sector, revenues have dropped to zero. Securing debt facilities has been crucial for those companies in attempting to ride out the crisis. In Guernsey we have already seen a great deal of lending activity – both private and public. Private equity funds have been scrambling to secure credit lines for struggling portfolio companies – often with some urgency. Even where the borrower is not in immediate distress, there has been a sense that credit should be secured while it remains available.
Carey Olsen recently advised on Guernsey and Jersey's loan guarantee schemes under which governments in the Crown Dependencies have agreed to guarantee to participating banks up to £140 million of new lending across the islands.
Other countries around the world have implemented their own mechanisms to try to help those suffering economic hardship as a result of the pandemic. Even the large buy-out firms have sought to access relief packages where available, such as the $2 trillion available in the USA. Carey Olsen has also seen European private equity managers seek to access governmental support for mid-sized European trading company investments.
But not all asset classes are suffering. Some managers have already begun raising new funds targeting distressed or newly in-favour assets and to put in place new credit facilities to enable them to take advantage of opportunities quickly. Distressed debt, as in 2008, is proving attractive. How investment teams will scope and assess new opportunities under the current travel restrictions remains to be seen.
Board attendance
Travel restrictions have also made travelling to attend board meetings in Guernsey impossible. This is a problem where the attendance of those overseas directors is essential in order to meet Guernsey's substance requirements.
The Guernsey International Business Association has issued guidance assuring business that the Guernsey Revenue Service would take a pragmatic approach in the present exceptional circumstances and this approach was endorsed by Guernsey's Chief Minister. In that guidance, companies are advised to maintain relevant records to demonstrate why compliance had proved impossible and utilise virtual conference facilities if possible.
The European Union (EU) has not issued any such guidance. However, HMRC in the UK has noted that existing legislation and guidance already provides flexibility to deal with changes in business activities necessitated by the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. HMRC helpfully notes that they do not consider that a company will necessarily become resident in the UK because a few board meetings are held there or because some decisions are taken in the UK over a short period of time. This is very helpful in the current circumstances. Nonetheless in the medium to longer term, businesses should consider appointing alternate directors and in some cases board composition may need to change more fundamentally.
Blacklisting
Those countries which have been blacklisted by the EU as a result of their failure to implement adequate substance requirements are to be subject to tougher restrictions in Luxembourg later this year. On 30 March 2020 the Luxembourg Government announced interest or royalty payments to recipients in blacklisted countries would no longer be tax deductible (subject to certain exceptions). Given Luxembourg's extensive array of double tax treaties this measure will bite on fund structures with connections to blacklisted countries.
This is the first time an EU state has taken specific measures against the recently blacklisted countries. However, the Luxembourg law implements guidelines approved by the EU Council on 5 December 2019 which raises the possibility that other EU member states may follow suit.
Self-managed Funds
Draft Guernsey legislation responding to the proposal to include self-managed funds within the scope of the substance regime remains with the EU for review. Since the original intention was to introduce these provisions retrospectively, with effect from 1 January 2020, one can only assume that the current crisis has caused delay.
This article first appeared on AssetServicingTimes.com, Thursday 7 May 2020.
For more information about Guernsey's finance industry please visit www.weareguernsey.com.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
