The Legal 500

A recent case in the English Court of Appeal has considered the definition of “subsidiary” set out in sections 736 and 736A of the UK Companies Act 1985 (the “UK Act”), in circumstances where a secured party has taken security by way of assignment of title to the shares of an underlying company.

A recent case in the English Court of Appeal has considered the definition of “subsidiary” set out in sections 736 and 736A of the UK Companies Act 1985 (the “UK Act”), in circumstances where a secured party has taken security by way of assignment of title to the shares of an underlying company.

New legislative provisions will come into force shortly in the British Virgin Islands relating to financial services, insurance business and financing and money services. These provisions will provide for an enhanced platform in these areas of the financial services industry of the BVI, once again demonstrating the continual commitment of the BVI to ensuring its legislation provides for first class transparent regulation which is appropriate for the BVI as an OECD white listed jurisdiction.

In B -v- C, D and E in the matter of the A Trust the Royal Court took the opportunity to fully review the law of mistake in Jersey concerning the disposal of personal property by an individual into a trust following recent decisions by the English courts.

On 23 December 2009 the Jersey Financial Services Commission (“JFSC”) published an additional trust company business section (the “Section”) to its Handbook for the Prevention and Detection of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism (the “Handbook”).

The liquidity crisis has increased the need for creative procedures to avoid sudden death bankruptcy in order to salvage existing value.

A Jersey company or one of its creditors may wish the company to be placed into administration in England under Schedule B1 of the UK's Insolvency Act 1986 (the "Act").

This is the latest in a line of rectification of trust applications granted by the Royal Court. In this case the Court allowed the remedy in circumstances where there were no beneficiaries recorded in the trust instrument when it was executed.

Current developments in the global investment funds legal and regulatory environment

The basic question is whether under Cayman Islands Law, a variation of a right attaching to a particular class of shares has to be consented to by special majority of the members? In other words, can the Article authorising the variation of class rights specify a simple majority or some other majority?

A private trust company ("PTC") is a useful vehicle to consider in the planning and establishment of trust structures for wealthy families. Rather than transferring assets to an offshore service provider's professional trustee company, certain families may prefer to establish their own corporate trustee (a PTC) to act as the trustee of the trusts which they plan to create.