A new survey of chief financial officers has revealed that Guernsey is by far the preferred location for private equity fund administration.

In the Private Equity News/State Street CFO survey, more than three-fifths (61%) of respondents said that Guernsey was their preferred destination for private equity outsourcing.

Jersey was mentioned by 15% of respondents, another 15% chose London while Luxembourg was the location of choice for 7.7% of respondents.

Peter Niven, Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance – the promotional agency for the Island's finance industry, said: "This is an extremely strong endorsement of Guernsey's private equity fund administration offering. We have built a reputation in this asset class during the last decade and this is yet further evidence of the value placed on our experience and expertise by key decision makers within some of the principal players in the sector. This really does reinforce the message that Guernsey is the leading European private equity fund administration centre."

Private Equity News, in conjunction with sponsor State Street, carried out this online questionnaire on the future of the private equity industry during December last year. The questionnaire was targeted at CFOs (or equivalent) from within the private equity and venture capital industries.

Three-quarters of respondents were CFOs, with the remainder holding the equivalent positions with responsibility for their firm's finances. Respondents included representatives from a variety of firms across the asset class: buyout; venture capital; growth capital; distressed debt and special opportunities; mezzanine; infrastructure; and private equity real estate. More than half the respondents worked at firms with more than $1bn of assets under management. Geographically, most respondents were based in Europe bur responses were also received from North America, the Middle East and Asia.

The results were released within the Private Equity News issue published on Monday 28th February in parallel with the start of the trade conference and exhibition SuperReturn International in Berlin where Guernsey Finance was leading a delegation from the Island.

These figures come at a time when statistics from the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) show that the value of funds under management and administration in Guernsey reached £257.4bn at the end of December 2010 – up 6% in the quarter and 40% year on year. The value of private equity funds under management and administration in Guernsey has also grown by around 50% year on year to reach more than £65 billion at the end of December 2010. In addition, data direct from the market authority shows that end of the last year there were comfortably more Guernsey-incorporated companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) than those from any other competitor jurisdiction.

These trends are likely to be key debating points during the Guernsey Funds Forum which takes place on Wednesday 11th May 2011 at the Grange St. Pauls Hotel in London. It will be hosted by ITV news anchor Alastair Stewart OBE and feature key industry speakers including leading venture capitalist Jon Moulton.

For more information about Guernsey's finance industry please visit www.guernseyfinance.com.

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