Germany and Netherlands emerging as European fund hotspots

Managers planning for a ‘hard Brexit’ should look to less established fund domiciles when making their next move.

Fund managers looking to base their funds outside of the UK as a result of the Brexit referendum should consider Germany or the Netherlands as an alternative to the traditional jurisdictions, the chief of a European private equity body has said.

Invest Europe’s Michael Collins said both countries have large financial services sectors and growing domestic private equity markets.

“Anecdotally, other jurisdictions seem to be talked about more than Germany or the Netherlands as a base for alternative investment fund managers,” said Collins. “[But] both are home to large LPs, so fund managers may wish to expand operations there to be closer to major investors.”

In addition, there appears to be renewed interest in France, which could develop as another viable jurisdiction as a result of political developments.

“The domestic private equity industry in France is increasingly positive about its prospects, and President Macron is signaling that he wants to encourage businesses to think of France as an option,” he added.

A number of countries have been revamping their funds infrastructure to attract firms that may otherwise have domiciled funds in the UK.

Ireland was the latest to update its limited partnership laws, saying in August it will allow for carried interest and complex fund accounting which are not directly available in the existing structure.