The strong flow of corporate migrations into Guernsey demonstrates the sustained appeal of the jurisdiction, its flexible company law and its regulatory framework, according to corporate law specialists at Walkers.
Lawyers in Walkers' Guernsey Investment Funds & Corporate Practice Group have worked on a stream of inward company migrations over the past 12 months, advising on companies migrating into Guernsey from a variety of jurisdictions around the world.
Companies moving from one jurisdiction to another do so for a variety of reasons – for example, streamlining group administration, facilitating lending and the regulatory environment.
The process of migrating a company into or out of Guernsey is a straightforward one, and the statutory regime for migrating limited partnerships was updated in 2020, to make it more streamlined.
Figures for company migrations are recorded by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission. The last full years for which figures have been published – 2019 to 2021 – show a net flow of 68 companies per year into the Island (inward migrations over outward migrations), but 2023 looks likely to show an increase on that.
Samantha Gramoney, an associate in Walkers' Guernsey Investment Funds & Corporate Practice Group team, said: "There are potential legislative driving factors for the increase in migrations, including the implementation of the Limited Partnerships (Guernsey) (Migrations) Regulations, 2020 which sparked interest in the more simplified migration of limited partnerships and the continuity of the limited partnership structure, after migration, into Guernsey.
"With the introduction of economic substance legislation at the beginning of 2019, Guernsey joined the whitelist of the OECD solidifying its commitment to meeting the substance requirements of the OECD and the EU. For investors and managers, this strategically positioned Guernsey as a robust leader in compliance.
"There is also strong investor preference for Guernsey as it is a politically and economically stable jurisdiction. Guernsey is recognised as an established and competitive market of service providers providing high quality services at competitive costs.
"These factors, coupled with the efficiency of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission's fast-track migration process, has statistically shown that 'Guernsey PLC' is leading the way and attracting the attention of investment managers globally."
Walkers' Guernsey team recently moved to new, larger premises at Helvetia Court to accommodate its growing headcount - last year, Walkers' Channel Islands offices saw 33 new joiners and 16 promotions.
Walkers' Guernsey team is ranked in the top tier by Legal 500 for its advice on Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions.
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