Wealth company sees increase in interest from UK

Andy Finch from Canaccord says he expects the interest to continue

A wealth management company has reported a rise in the number of people looking to move their assets to the Channel islands.

Canaccord Wealth International has recorded a 56% increase in internet searches for its services in Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man since the general election in July.

The company expects those figures to increase further following the announcement of the Labour government's Budget on Wednesday.

CEO Andy Finch said it was clear from the data that people in the UK are concerned about their wealth.

"I think there is a concern that with a Labour government coming into power that there may be a return to the past of tax and spend and maybe not quite the level of fiscal propriety that people want to see," he said.

"I think there is increasingly an inherent distrust in governments and whether they are going to deliver value to their people."

'Continued interest'

Mr Finch said the Budget announcement could mean an increase in people wanting to relocate to the islands.

"It feels like it's going to be more of a pinch than a punch to people's finances in the UK," he said.

"Nonetheless, we fully expect to see that continued interest in people looking for alternative jurisdictions in which they might relocate to, to help with their financial wellbeing."

He added: "We can only hope that it would be a positive benefit to the Channel Islands.

"In addition to people looking for service providers who are based here, I think the potential exists for us to see more people considering relocating to the islands and taking advantage of a more benign tax environment than they have in the UK."