“We chose Jersey as a preferred international finance centre because our trusted advisers recommended it. Our lawyer spoke highly of the solutions, services and professionals on the Island. Other administrators, lawyers and bankers to whom we spoke made a similar recommendation. The community of professionals who support the business of international clients is broad and well-established.”

A family office in the Gulf region

A Clear Choice

Real estate

Jersey is the clear choice for real estate structuring, not just for property in London and other cities in the UK, but also for property in North America and Western Europe, particularly in Germany and France, plus Spain and Portugal.We work with Saudi families acquiring:
■ Residential property, structured as buy-to-let or as part of a buy-to-let portfolio
■ Commercial real estate, including residential towers,
student housing, office towers, hotels, warehouses and real estate for ‘last mile’ logistics Particularly appealing is the fact that it’s often easier to sell commercial property structured in Jersey and this widens the pool of potential buyers. This is largely thanks to Jersey’s reputation as a leading and trusted IFC.

Redomiciling and restructuring

It’s our first-class reputation and unparalleled levels of expertise that set us apart from other IFCs. Families in the Kingdom are choosing us for redomiciling their international structures and/or restructuring. This ‘flight to quality’ is most often seen for structures established in the Caribbean, such as special purpose vehicles (SPVs). Equally, structures set up in the 1980s and 1990s in Panama and Liechtenstein, often owning assets in the United States, are also the focus for restructuring.

International Savings Plans

Our recently introduced International Savings Plans are tax-approved schemes for multi-national employers. These forward-thinking plans differ from traditional pensions. They are more flexible as they allow a payout to employees before the normal minimum pension age, either on termination of employment or on the occurrence of a major life-changing event such as redundancy, ill health or divorce. They are ideal schemes for end-of-service benefit payments.

Private trust companies

Jersey private trust companies (PTCs) are highly popular amongst Saudi families looking to preserve and protect wealth for future generations. As control and family participation are vitally important, PTCs allow for family members or trusted advisers to become board members alongside professional service providers.

Jersey Private Funds

Jersey Private Funds are also extremely attractive for investments from the Kingdom, especially for club investments. This structuring option offers institutional and professional investors a more streamlined and fast-track regime, with tailored ongoing regulatory requirements. Funds for up to 50 investors can be established in as little as 48 hours.

Family offices

Jersey is the perfect place to locate a family office, thanks to our level and range of expertise, our favourable time zone and our innovative, forward-thinking service offerings. We have many well-established single and multi-family offices, offering a whole range of functions, from wealth management and succession planning, through to property management, and marine and aviation asset management.

Islamic finance

We’re a leading Islamic finance centre. Unlike other jurisdictions, we don’t need to amend laws to make things work so all Shariah-compliant structures and contracts can be accommodated and we have extensive expertise in this area. Many Sukuk structures, for example, have been established in Jersey.

Forward Thinking Events

In recent years, we’ve worked with the British Embassy in Riyadh and the British Consulate in Jeddah to host annual receptions to raise further awareness and provide opportunities to engage with Jersey practitioners. In 2018, in partnership with the Department for International Trade, Jersey hosted an educational event in Riyadh exclusively for women. This was organised in response to an increasing appetite for financial knowledge by female attendees at previous events, and the growing number of female Jersey practitioners now assisting clients in the Kingdom. With unprecedented registration, the event was heavily oversubscribed and feedback from attendees was unequivocally positive.

Delivering Insight

We’re proud to be developing a library of evidence-based research on international finance, which has grown over the years. Recently, we commissioned Jeddah-based law firm Hammad & Al-Mehdar to examine the important factors considered by both the Kingdom’s inbound and outbound investors and the various structuring approaches that are sought.

Private wealth management
Succession planning for future generations
Commercial and residential real estate

Faizal Bhana › Director – Middle East, Africa and India, Jersey Finance
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