Commenting on Invest Europe’s 2017 European Private Equity Activity Report, published this week, Mike Byrne, chairman of the Jersey Funds Association, believes Jersey has a vital role to play in ensuring both the UK and EU private equity sectors continue to experience an upward trajectory.

He said: “The buoyancy reported in the European private equity space is fantastic news, and reflects a growing appetite that we are also seeing in Jersey amongst investors to allocate increasingly towards the alternative asset classes. From a Jersey perspective, we are clearly keen to see a thriving private equity sector across the UK and wider EU.
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“It is particularly interesting that the report highlights that more than 40% of private equity capital flowing into Europe in 2017 came from outside of Europe, with investors from North America contributing 26% and investors from Asia making their highest contribution to date with a 15% share. With 11% coming from the UK, these figures suggest that more than half of private equity capital in Europe post-Brexit will come from non-EU sources. Meanwhile, the report also finds that 47% of private equity managers in Europe are in the UK.
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“There is clear growing interest from global investors in European private equity. This reinforces Jersey’s core role in acting as a domicile for many leading European private equity managers and our confidence that Jersey will continue to play a vital role in helping managers and investors bridge the Brexit gap. Jersey can offer a really attractive environment for connecting both EU and non-EU investors and managers with this buoyant market. For instance, Jersey has strong connections to the UK and is well placed to support the significant UK management community, and other non-EU managers, with ongoing access to the EU market. Private placement is working extremely well, with the number of funds choosing this flexible and cost-effective route through Jersey growing 15% year on year. Meanwhile, we also know that post-Brexit around three-quarters of alternative fund assets routed through Jersey will come from beyond the EU, so Jersey has clear credentials as a tried and tested global conduit for the growing amount of private equity targeting the EU.
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“It is also pertinent that, according to the report, pension funds contributed almost a third of all European private equity. Jersey’s reputation as a leading centre for institutional investment, managing pension fund assets totalling around £160bn, can stand it in good stead here too.”