Carey Olsen's investment funds practice in Guernsey has advised in respect of the launch of GLI Alternative Finance PLC, which closed on the 23 September following a successful fund-raising of £52.66 million.
GLI Alternative Finance PLC (GLAF) is a closed-ended fund trading on the London Stock Exchange’s Specialist Fund Market with a loan portfolio diversified by geography, size of loan, type of lending and duration. This diversity lies at the heart of the fund's strategic position with the largest exposures coming from four different segments of the alternative finance space: peer-to-peer business lending, trade finance, commercial property finance and balance sheet lending.
Managed by GLI Asset Management Limited, an asset management subsidiary of GLI Finance Limited, the fund aims to provide investors with access to the alternative finance market with a target of a ‘high single digit’ yield
Carey Olsen partner Ben Morgan and senior associate John Scanlan worked on the Guernsey aspects of the launch.
Advocate Morgan said: “This fund is unusual from a technical perspective in that it is, as far as we can tell, the first Guernsey registered fund that is also a UK PLC."
"The selection of Carey Olsen to advise is testament to our strong reputation for LSE listed funds particularly in the Specialist Fund Market where both Guernsey and Carey Olsen continue to dominate."
GLI Finance is a specialist provider of finance to small and medium sized enterprises and is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. GLI Finance invests in loans to SMEs and originates finance for SMEs through a variety of finance platforms.
Institutional Broker and corporate advisor, N+1 Singer, acted as financial adviser, broker and placing agent to the company.