JERSEY Trends and Developments Contributed by: James Willmott, David Taylor, Guy Coltman and Katherine Tresca, Carey Olsen Jersey LLP
more than 30 shareholders to be public companies – is set to be scrapped, removing an administrative burden on companies with larger shareholder bases, which is particularly welcome in instances where there are large numbers of management shareholders coming into an investment structure. The concept of “authorised share capital” for par value companies (Jersey’s equivalent of private limited companies) is also set to be removed, meaning Jersey companies will no longer have to spec - ify an authorised share capital limit in their memoran - dum of association – or, therefore, update this when it needs to issue shares above that limit. The authors anticipate that these changes will, among other amend - ments, be made in the first half of 2026 and will main - tain and promote Jersey’s status as a highly favourable jurisdiction for PE acquisition structures. Jersey investments Alongside being a preferred domicile for PE investors to base their capital and corporate structures, Jer - sey has been an attractive market for PE investment in and of itself. As a leading financial centre, Jersey is home to large corporate services and professional services markets, which have attracted sustained interest from investors. With respect to the market for corporate services, the growth of Jersey as a leading jurisdiction for funds and corporate entities has led to the rise of a large number of corporate service providers (CSPs), which provide incorporation, administration and regulatory services to the funds and companies based on the island. The growth of the sector has in part been attributable to the growth of the private capital industry in the past 50 years, and the demand it has generated for the fund and corporate structures discussed above. For upwards of a decade, the CSP market in Jersey has seen high levels of investment from PE sponsors. Indeed, the PE industry appears to have found a way to “eat its own tail”: generating returns from demand that it has itself partly created. Attracted by the stable recurring revenues that CSPs are able to produce from a base of generally sticky clients (ie, other PE bud - dies, among others), various leading PE houses have made investments into Jersey-based CSPs. In 2016, Inflexion acquired Ocorian, a CSP on the island, which it later merged with Estera, another CSP it acquired
from Bridgepoint. This trend has continued in recent years, with the Genstar Capital-backed Apex Group acquiring Sanne Group plc in August 2022, the Gen - eral Atlantic- and Hg-backed Gen II Fund Services acquiring Crestbridge in April 2024, Warburg Pincus acquiring a minority stake in Aztec Group in May 2025, and Telemos Capital acquiring Highvern and merging it with the Nordic fund administrator Permian in Janu - ary 2025, among a number of other transactions. High levels of PE investment and bolt-on acquisitions have driven significant consolidation in the corporate ser - vices sector in Jersey, somewhat reducing the number of attractive investments available. However, with the growth of the sector generally indexed to the contin - ued growth of the global private capital industry, and with that growth – despite the headwinds discussed – not showing any signs of a continued slow down, this is a trend that looks set to continue, with enough “CSP pie” to go around for the time being. Jersey is also home to a large professional services market, with a number of wealth management, tax advisory and accountancy businesses being estab - lished or having branches on the island. PE investors have taken a particular shine to accountancy firms in recent years, with an eye to rolling up the member firms that comprise their networks. In May 2024, New Moun - tain Capital acquired a majority stake in Grant Thornton US, which then went on to acquire more than six sis - ter and affiliate firms in various jurisdictions, including Grant Thornton Channel Islands. Grant Thornton UK, meanwhile, agreed to be acquired instead by Cinven, with Grant Thornton US and Grant Thornton UK both then reportedly vying for the German Grant Thornton affiliate business. PE interest in the sector is not lim - ited to the top end of the market either: the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales recently reported that 93% of independent accounting firms had been approached by a PE house in the last three years, with 25% of firms saying they were likely to secure PE investment within the next three years. Given the scale of the professional services market in Jersey and the high level of PE interest, the authors expect investments into professional services businesses on the island to be a continuing trend. *Alex Pattisson (associate) contributed to this article alongside the authors.
343 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook