​Walkers' London office has a well-established listings practice, helping some of our clients obtain debt and equity listings on a number of different stock exchanges. In this space at the moment, we most often see corporate groups listing their internal debt on a recognised stock exchange, to benefit from the UK withholding tax exemption - with the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange (the "CSX") being the exchange of choice for such listings. From our London office, we have acted for well over a quarter of the current CSX listed corporate debt issuers.

Historically the structure we would most often come across would be a straightforward one - a US listed parent with a UK subsidiary issuing intra-group debt that was to be listed on the CSX, to benefit from the UK withholding tax exemption. These days the corporate group structures are anything but straightforward, with debt being issued by companies in an array of different jurisdictions.  We are also seeing more innovative listings, such as by peer to peer ("P2P") lenders, where the issuer of the debt uses a P2P lending platform to raise funds for its corporate purposes. In a largely unregulated P2P market, those borrowers who are able to provide the necessary information to list their debt can be perceived as more legitimate and thus more able to raise funds.

Two things that we often emphasize with potential clients looking to list corporate debt on the CSX, is how very approachable and responsive the CSX is. It is always worth discussing any queries or unusual requirements and innovations with the CSX, even if it is in relation to something we have not seen before. Provided there is full transparency, we can usually work out a route that is acceptable to all parties.

The process of listing corporate debt on the CSX has always been a straightforward one and this has not changed. The disclosure requirements and continuing obligations remain sensible and are not onerous. Transparency is required in relation to the issuer's (and its group's) financial position and we can no longer rely upon an issuer's listed parent's financial statements (which historically was the case). We have found, however, that issuers don't mind the additional financial disclosures, so long as they have certainty of approach, costs and timing, which the CSX do provide.

With the 2015 General Election now behind us, we are starting to see more and more corporate debt listings in the marketplace. From a macro standpoint, this can only be a good thing for UK companies. Simply speaking, these corporate debt listings enable UK companies to go about their business more efficiently and thus enable them to compete more favourably in the global markets. This can only be good for the UK labour market as well as the economy as a whole.

The listing of corporate debt is an integral tool within the UK and the wider global economies and we look forward to being involved in many more complex and bespoke listings in the future.

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