Carey Olsen advised Polygon Properties Ltd on its £4.5 million acquisition of JP Morgan House, Forum 4, Grenville Street – regarded as a strategic acquisition for the company’s Jersey property portfolio.
Polygon Properties is part of Polygon Group, which invests in European, UK and Channel Island property and businesses.
The property is a prominent Grade-A office building built in the mid-1980s and fully refurbished in 2012. The building’s tenants include JP Morgan, HLB Jackson Fox and Perdurance Asset Management.
The purchase follows Polygon’s acquisition in 2013 of Forum 3, which was the group’s first Jersey commercial property investment and is now the centre for Digital Jersey and technology-themed serviced offices.
Carey Olsen’s property team, led by partner and head of property Chris Philpott, advised on all aspects of the purchase.
The firm’s involvement in this transaction follows its recent role in advising Hand Picked Hotels on the acquisition of the five-star Grand Jersey Hotel and Spa, and in acting on the sale of Jacksons CI group at the end of 2014.
Mr Philpott said: ‘Polygon’s latest purchase, hot on the heels of its acquisition of the neighbouring Forum 3, is testament to the positive investment climate we are seeing in Jersey and the continued appeal of Jersey commercial property to investors.’
Alex Belcher of Polygon said: ‘We are excited about our recent purchase. It will allow us to accelerate the technology sector in Jersey and revitalise the Grenville Street area of town.’
DONNA Withers, head of wills and probate at Hawksford, has contributed to an important legal textbook to be published by Oxford University Press.
International Protection of Adults is a comprehensive analysis of cross-border issues around mental capacity, compiled by renowned experts.
Ms Withers’ chapter is one of 52 jurisdictional focuses in the book. Her contribution explains Jersey’s law relating to vulnerable adults and will be an aid for worldwide practitioners representing adults who may have a reduced mental capacity with financial affairs in the Island.
‘Modern globalisation over the past 30 years combined with an ageing population makes the issue of mental capacity extremely pertinent and the book very timely,’ Ms Withers said.
‘Individuals have been internationally mobile with homes and assets in multiple jurisdictions for a number of years, and many of them are now ageing. With this, we are seeing an exponential rise in age-related illnesses such as dementia.
‘This means that the law around the international protection of adults is still evolving as issues arise more frequently.
‘International Protection of Adults will go some way towards helping practitioners to act on behalf of clients with complex international affairs. I am honoured to have been asked to contribute. For a number of years Hawksford has offered elderly clients fiduciary services, both curatorships for Jersey residents and attorneyships for residents elsewhere. As part of our will planning, we often advise on international lasting powers of attorney to protect clients’ wealth if they become incapacitated and cannot give instructions.’
The book will be published this month and is available through Oxford University Press.
As well as contributing to the International Protection of Assets, Ms Withers has published a cross-jurisdictional guide in respected industry publication STEP Journal. She recently received an award from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Jersey for achieving the highest mark in the STEP Diploma – Company Law and Practice paper.
THE venue for the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s 2015 Channel Islands Marketing Awards has been chosen.
In a new format for the inaugural pan-Channel Islands awards, the black-tie ceremony will take place at the Jersey Opera House on 20 March.
With a theme of ‘luminosity’, the event will feature an ‘Oscars-style’ awards ceremony, a dinner with a difference and a party to follow, with a guest DJ.
Entries for the awards are currently open through the online entry portal at entercimawards.com and will close at midnight on Friday 20 February. There is no cost to enter and the format for submitting entries has been made easy, with entrants asked to submit concise statistical information to reinforce their achievements and explain why their campaign was so successful.
Winners will be selected by a panel of judges including Bronagh Hunt, global marketing manager for Sailor Jerry; Sarah Pinch, president of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations; and Suzanne Cole, director of Best of Wales and a senior lecturer in marketing.
There are ten award categories including the new Marketing Team of the Year Award and the overall Marketing Excellence Award, which for the first time the audience will be able to vote for on the night.
Steve Cartwright, chairman of the Channel Islands CIM Branch, said: ‘With a new venue and a new format, this year’s CIM Awards will showcase and celebrate the very best marketing and communications campaigns from all sectors right across Jersey and Guernsey.
‘There are a huge number of bright thinkers and creative practitioners working across the marketing and communications professions in the Channel Islands, and our theme of luminosity aims to capture that energy.
‘The awards ceremony on 20 March promises to be a really enjoyable event and those wanting to experience a theatrical awards ceremony like no other should book their tickets as soon as possible. I would also encourage all individuals and teams who have a campaign they are proud of to enter in good time before the closing date.’
Sponsors and partners of the 2015 Channel Islands Marketing Awards are The Beach Communication, Delta Production Services, PBS Media, the Jersey Evening Post and Guernsey Press, CIPR Channel Islands, Gallery Magazine, and Switch Digital.
NICHOLAS Le Quesne, an associate and English solicitor in the Family Law Department at Hanson Renouf, has been awarded the Law Society of Jersey prize for obtaining top marks in the Jersey Legal System and Constitutional Law paper in the 2014 Jersey Law examinations.
The Law Society of Jersey Trophy was presented to Mr Le Quesne and Katie Ridley of the Judicial Greffe jointly by the Deputy Bailiff.
The Jersey Legal System and Constitutional Law module of the Jersey Law Course is centred around the sources of Jersey’s customary law and civil law, as well as concentrating on local and French legal authorities and Jersey’s constitutional law relationship with the UK. The Jersey Legal System and Constitutional Law examination is taken by all candidates wishing to qualify as a Jersey advocate or solicitor.
Advocate Barbara Corbett, partner and head of Family Law at Hanson Renouf said: ‘We are proud of Nick’s achievement and are pleased that all his hard work has paid off. The Jersey Law exams are some of the most difficult lawyers have to pass and the Jersey Legal System and Constitutional Law module is especially tricky, but is the foundation of Jersey law.’
MORE trading companies listing on the Channel Islands Securities Exchange is a stated aim for the company and a political objective for Jersey.
New chief executive Fiona Le Poidevin wants to increase the number of trading companies listed on the exchange, where business is dominated by technical listings of debt vehicles and investment funds, in a bid to diversify and enhance its activities.
‘We are very keen to grow the number of companies listing on the exchange, particularly local companies,’ Ms Le Poidevin said.
‘The support we have received from local industry is very important and to give something back by helping some of those businesses to raise capital we would love to do.’
And Jersey’s Assistant Chief Minister, Senator Philip Ozouf, said that in the government’s new strategic plan, which has economic growth at the ‘very top’ of the agenda, the issue of whether access to capital and finance was a barrier for expansion or new start-ups was under consideration. ‘The exchange could in future be a place where companies look to raise capital for expansion,’ Senator Ozouf said. ‘I remember when there were many listed Channel Island companies. Today there are only a handful. I’d like to explore the opportunity of the branch becoming not only an important part of the finance industry’s funds listing, but also the capital raising and trading place for domestic companies operating in the CI markets and overseas activities.
‘I see both of these roles as vital for the exchange in promoting economic growth and jobs in Jersey.’
CHARLOTTE Smith has been appointed an account manager at the Jersey office of Betley Whitehorne Image.
Having previously worked for HSBC, ITV Channel Television and Gallery magazine for both Jersey and Guernsey, she will now be working with a range of the agency’s clients.
Betley Whitehorne Image managing director Chris Betley said: ‘Charlie’s impressive media knowledge, event management acumen and reputation as an efficient and enthusiastic client relationship manager are a real asset to the agency.
‘With pan-island client relationship credentials, as well as a strong television and print media background, we are delighted to have her on board.’
MICHELLE Vibert has been appointed to the role of finance relationship manager at Mi Finance.
Having worked for NatWest Bank before joining the team in 2015, and with eight years’ experience in local banking, she becomes the firm’s resident lending specialist, bringing her extensive knowledge to personal and corporate finance and private lending sectors.
‘My objective is to make the lending process as stress-free as possible,’ Ms Vibert said.
