Each business day HedgeCo.Net keeps you informed with the top hedge fund industry news, opinion and insight from around the globe. From the latest hedge fund launches, to the impact of regulation, competition, and investor activism - we track the topics and people that make a difference to you.
Reuters – Opportunistic property investment firm NewRiver Retail said on Monday it would list in September with a capitalisation of 25 million pounds, two months after suspending a planned 250 million pounds float.
NewRiver expects its shares to be admitted to London’s Alternative Investment Market on September 1, it said in a statement. The shares would also be admitted to the Channel Islands Stock Exchange.
The Lawyer – Offshore giant Appleby is to merge with Isle of Man firm Dickinson Cruickshank to create the world’s largest offshore firm in terms of partner numbers.
The combined firm will have 73 partners and nine offices worldwide, including in Dubai and Zurich, where Appleby opened last year.
It is the first major offshore merger since Appleby first moved into the Channel Islands by combining with Jersey-based firm Bailhache Labesse in June 2006.
Reuters India – KSK Emerging India Energy Fund had raised £100 million from AIM last year to invest in Indian energy companies.
Global recession has claimed a victim in India. KSK Emerging India Energy Fund (KEF), a £100 million fund listed in London’s Alternative Investment Market, has been wound up after the shareholders passed a resolution last week demanding the same.
The shareholders – which include large hedge funds – passed a resolution on January 22 asking for the liquidation of the company and the return of funds invested by them. The delisting of the company and liquidation has come into effect from January 23. The EGM was held in Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands.
Reuters UK – Britain’s temporary ban on short-selling financial stocks is irksome for London’s hedge funds and is another factor which could help undermine the city’s pre-eminent position in Europe as a hedge fund base.
Short-selling is a key trading strategy for hedge funds as they aim to profit regardless of whether a stock is rising or falling, but London’s curbs come as rival centres seek to attract hedge funds to bolster their financial sectors.
Switzerland, France, Luxembourg and Scandinavia have all begun to emerge as alternative options for hedge funds looking for lower tax and a higher quality of life.
The European industry could follow the U.S. model and develop in a number of regional centres, although London’s upmarket St James’s and Mayfair districts are likely to remain the heart of the industry in Europe for at least the time being.
