LEADING London fiduciary specialists have been given a practical taste of what Guernsey can offer. Finance industry promotion agency GuernseyFinance, with the Guernsey Association of Trustees, hosted The Guernsey Fiduciary Forum 2007 at the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall.

About 150 delegates attended the half-day event – about a third from the island. Most of the rest were London-based and included leading fiduciary lawyers and practitioners.

‘It was very informative and it dealt with issues that are pertinent to me as a London lawyer. It told me what I needed to know in a very practical manner,’ said solicitor Karen Methold, a partner at Rooks Rider.

There were 12 speakers from the island and the UK at the event, which encompassed topics such as purpose trusts, private trust companies and cellular structures for families, concluding with a wide-ranging interactive debate that included intellectual property rights and foundations.

Sharon Parr, managing director of Walbrook (Guernsey) and the GAT representative to the organising committee, said: ‘Our aim when we decided to do this was not to sell, because we wanted the audience to get some technical information on how the sector functions.

‘We have a great debating culture where we think of a problem and try to work on a solution as an industry and we wanted to demonstrate that.

‘The quality of the panellists and speakers was second to none and all of the feedback received was that this was a great taster and we now want to get more details.’

GuernseyFinance chief executive Peter Niven said that the audience appreciated the fact that there was no hard sell.

‘This is fact, this is what we are doing. It’s how we can benefit them and their clients, and that’s important when people are very busy,’ he said.

‘The audience was a who’s who of London fiduciary lawyers and practitioners and we have been very fortunate also to have the calibre of speakers, comprising top London lawyers in their field, speaking on behalf of Guernsey, endorsing what we are doing and where we are going.’

Conference chairman and keynote speaker Andrew Thornhill, QC, head of Pump Court Tax Chambers, whose areas of expertise include corporate restructuring, tax planning and employee remuneration, told delegates: ‘Guernsey is quite a hive of intellectual activity when it comes to devising new structures. You might have quite a problem deciding whether you want a hybrid company, a purpose trust or a foundation but at least you have got the choice.

‘It seems quite a healthy approach to ask people what they want and then organise the legal structure to do it.’