Collas Crill has once again advised the award-winning Darwin Group on the launch of a new Guernsey fund which has successfully raised approximately £100 million in capital at launch.
The Darwin Leisure Development Fund is a new alternative investment proposition for UK local authority pension schemes which will seek to invest in UK holiday parks showing “potential” for redevelopment.
This strategy reflects Darwin's overall goal of offering investment solutions that generate long-term absolute returns which both enhance capital and provide high levels of income and builds on the success of the Darwin group's first fund, the Darwin Leisure Property Fund which has grown to nearly £500 million in value. Collas Crill also advises the Darwin Leisure Property Fund as Guernsey counsel.
Darwin was, among other accolades, named ‘Alternatives Manager of the Year’ at the 2015 and 2016 LAPF Investment Awards and 'Alternative Investment Manager of the Year' at the 2016 UK Pension Awards.
Darwin chairman, James Penney, said: “We are delighted to have launched successfully another open-ended fund in Guernsey. Once again the Collas Crill team have demonstrated the value of their experience in this sector and have been a pleasure to work with throughout the process."
The commercial team at Collas Crill was led by group partner Wayne Atkinson alongside senior associate Tristan Ozanne.
Wayne said: "It is a pleasure to work once again with the Darwin team and we congratulate them on another successful fund launch. The success of Darwin's open-ended Guernsey funds highlights the breadth of the Guernsey investment fund community, a fair proportion of which falls into the open-ended sector.
"Collas Crill's funds team has a wealth of experience launching of funds with alternative strategies and open-ended funds; this latest successful launch once again flags the importance of that unique skillset to the wider funds marketplace. "
