The number of businesses and individuals registering Limited Partnerships in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) increased by 200% between Q2 and Q3 2018, as the Territory’s new partnership provisions came into full effect.

According to the latest quarterly figures from the BVI Financial Services Commission (FSC), 114 Limited Partnerships were registered on-island in Q3 2018, compared with 38 in Q2 2018. Q3’s figures are also up nearly 400% on the 23 Limited Partnerships registered in Q3 2017.

The increase follows the new Limited Partnership Act, a law enacted in December 2017 which applies to all newly formed BVI Limited Partnerships. The new rules were drafted to meet businesses’ modern commercial requirements and now better reflect the flexibility and simplicity of BVI incorporation rules. The Act enables investors who do not want to play an active role in managing the fund to limit their liability. Instead, the fund is controlled by a general partner who takes on unlimited liability. New limited partnerships in the BVI contain several key innovations which represent a step change in this area of law, as well as a number of state-of-the-art provisions covering legal personality; registration charges; model agreement inclusion and forfeiture.

The growth in Limited Partnership registrations comes as the BVI enjoyed its strongest Q3 in three years for new company incorporations. According to the Q3 2018 FSC quarterly statistical bulletin, company incorporations grew 5% quarter-on-quarter (9,575 vs 9,126) and were up by more than 25% on Q3 2017 (9,575 vs 7,639).

The strong growth in Q3 2018 follows an equally strong Q1 2018, where incorporations increased by 16% compared the previous six months (18,924 vs 16,316). The latest increase brings the total number of Business Companies on the Register to 422,594, as of 30^th September 2018.

Elise Donovan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BVI Finance, said: “We updated our Limited Partnership Act after close consultation with financial and legal practitioners, who told us they needed a structure that was easier to use and offered the flexibility that is required by today’s wealth and asset management industry. We listened, and created a structure that represents the very best of modern techniques and flexibility in Limited Partnership vehicles. It therefore comes as no surprise that Limited Partnership numbers have increased so rapidly since its introduction.

“The fact this growth comes against the backdrop of another strong quarter for company incorporations only serves to highlight the strength of the BVI as a global financial centre.”

The Q3 2018 BVI FSC Statistical Bulletin can be viewed via the following link: http://www.bvifsc.vg/publications/q3-2018-bvi-fsc-statistical-bulletin