Carey Olsen’s Guernsey funds team and Vistra Guernsey have advised ADM Capital Europe LLP on the successful designation of its global agribusiness investment fund, the Cibus Fund, as a Guernsey Green Fund – the first regulated green fund of its kind in the world.
Launched in July by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission as the world’s first regulated green fund product, the Guernsey Green Fund Rules outline strict eligibility criteria of green investing that funds must comply with in order to be awarded Guernsey Green Fund status. It provides investors with the confidence that investments are being used for environmental purposes that are established and monitored against a reliable set of regulatory standards.
The Cibus Fund, which launched last year and held a US$100 million first close in May 2017, is focused on mid-market investment opportunities in sustainable food processing and production companies, primarily across Europe and Australasia that look to provide for the growing demand for high value added foods. It also has a secondary mandate to invest equity growth capital in parts of the food and agriculture value chain primed for technological disruption and innovation.
Carey Olsen partner Ben Morgan led the team advising on the Guernsey Green Fund designation and was assisted by senior associate James Cooke.
“As Guernsey’s leading legal adviser to funds, Carey Olsen is delighted to have supported the CibusFund on its successful designation as a Guernsey Green Fund,” said Mr Morgan.
“The interest in green and impact investment initiatives is growing all the time and it is testament to Guernsey’s reputation for innovation and speed-to-market that it has the world’s first and only regulated green fund product. The Cibus Fund is the first of its kind but we also expect it to be the first of many, as the jurisdiction positions itself as the ‘go-to’ international finance centre for green finance.”
Vistra Guernsey associate director Julian Carey added: “We at Vistra are proud to administer the Cibus Fund and are delighted that it has achieved the status of Guernsey’s first Green Fund.”
