The Market Authority of the Channel Islands Stock Exchange (CISX) has approved its 5,000th security for admission to its Official List.
The listed security, sponsored by Ogier, is a special purpose vehicle from specialist real estate debt provide, Capital A Finance.
The milestone, achieved in its 15th year, has been reached at a time when the CISX has recorded consistent growth despite the difficult trading conditions. During 2012 there were 510 new listings in total compared to 498 the previous year and trading volumes increased by 64 per cent.
Ogier was the sponsor for the Exchange’s milestone listing and partner Christopher Byrne (pictured) says: "Ogier was a founding member of the CISX and has listed over 650 securities with a particular focus on Bonds and SPVs. At the end of last year Ogier remained the leading listing agent for with a share of 19.5 per cent of all securities listed. We enjoy working with the CISX and find that clients and intermediaries use it once and come back again and again and we believe that institutional support for the Exchange continues to grow thanks to the efforts of the Exchange management team.”
The specialist debt market is one area where demand for a quick and efficient listing service is of particular importance now more than ever, given the changes about to come into force in July this year from the updated EU Prospectus Directive. The CISX is especially well placed to service the demand as it has a track record for the listing of specialist debt securities, including Eurobonds and Special Purpose Vehicles, it services a wide international community of Issuers from the convenient European time zone while outside the EU and the CISX is a recognised exchange for the purposes of the Qualifying Eurobond Exemption. In anticipation of the changes to the EU Prospectus Directive, the Market Authority introduced late last year the Registered Issuer regime for the swift approval of specialist debt programmes.
The Exchange was founded in 1998 and listed its 2,000th listing nine years later in 2007. It reached 4000 securities in 2011 and it has taken less than two years to surpass the 5,000th listing figure.
Tamara Menteshvili, CISX chief executive says: “We are a first choice Exchange for both specialist debt securities and investment funds. With regard to the investment funds sector, we are experiencing increasing interest in the closed ended sector in particular, including the listing of UK REITs.
“It is extremely encouraging for the Exchange that we continue to experience growth, even during this most challenging of economic periods. The 510 listings in 2012 were the most in any one year since 2008. The success has been achieved thanks to the Market Authority’s focus on a highly personal service, our ability to adapt and remain innovative in meeting the requirements of international Issuers that are clients of our Members while maintaining high standards of governance and business practice. We have a very professional team at the CISX and assisted by our Members, we strive to put service first.”
Alongside increasing listings work, there was also a further substantial rise in trading volumes. Turnover in trading volumes at the end of 2012 stood at GBP45.4m, a 64 per cent increase on the previous year. Additional capital raised through SPVs amounted to GBP325m; GBP27m was raised by listed closed ended funds and a further GBP380m were from bond issues.
The growth continues into 2013 as the CISX has enjoyed its busiest ever first quarter, with 150 securities admitted to the Official List. Of particular note was the listing of one of the first UK REITs to be formed following recent changes to the UK REIT rules. The REIT was established by AXA Real Estate on behalf of a consortium of investors for the purpose of the GBP472m acquisition of Ropemaker Place in the City of London, which is likely to be one of the largest UK real estate deals of 2013.
