Skip to content

Real Estate

You manage the real estate. We manage the structures behind it.

VG sets up and runs the structures behind commercial property, in Jersey and the UK: JPUTs, property SPVs and holding companies, with the directors, accounts and lender reporting that keep them ready for completion, refinancing and sale.

From acquisition to sale, one team behind every structure.

The structures, directors and reporting a property portfolio needs, plus funds, escrow and Shariah-compliant options as it grows.

  • Ready for completion

    SPVs formed, banked and board-approved before the date you agreed, so your side of the deal is never the one holding it up.

  • Directors who know the loan

    Experienced directors who read your facility agreement and give you a clear answer on consents, quickly.

  • One view of the portfolio

    One team across your structures, funds, lender reporting and escrow, with one view of every asset, SPV and investor.

  • Experience across asset classes

    City of London offices, Dutch logistics, UK student accommodation, Italian shopping centres, Scottish retail parks and US commercial buildings.

Related solutions

Real estate structures

Jersey Property Unit Trust administration is where many commercial property structures start. VG administers JPUTs, real estate investment trust (REIT) structures, limited partnerships and Jersey holding companies. Whether your strategy is acquisition, financing, development, letting or buy-and-hold, we run the structure behind it.

Real estate structures

Commercial real estate is one of the largest asset classes VG administers. That includes multi-let offices in the City of London, logistics centres in the Netherlands, student accommodation in the UK, shopping centres in Italy, retail parks in Scotland and large commercially let buildings in the US. Clients and tenants include FTSE 100 and NASDAQ-listed companies.

Let's be clear. We run the structure, not the building. Property management stays with your property managers. For corporates, fund managers and their lawyers, your Jersey real estate structures stay compliant, reported and ready for your next move.

SPV services

SPV administration in Jersey means forming and running the special purpose vehicles (SPVs) behind your deals. Issuer SPVs. Holding SPVs. Orphan SPVs, held outside the originator's group. VG sets them up and keeps them in good order for the life of the transaction.

SPV services

That covers formation and domiciliation, a registered address, directors, a company secretary and governance. It also covers accounting, tax and reporting under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), done on time and properly documented.

Our issuer SPV services are used by originators, arrangers, lead legal counsel and structurers across structured finance, specialty finance and real estate debt. We usually act for the issuer SPV. Where the deal needs it, we can also act as trustee or agent, so more of the transaction sits with one team.

You'll know exactly how we work and where your work is with us at every stage. No surprises. Cut time, not corners.

Company secretarial, registered office and directors

Company secretarial services in Jersey keep your company compliant, on record and on time. VG acts as your company secretary, provides your Jersey registered office, and handles local and overseas statutory and tax filings. Any other officers your company needs, we can provide those too.

Company secretarial, registered office and directors

Need directors? Our Jersey corporate director services cover both personal and corporate directors. We attend your board meetings, take accurate minutes and keep every corporate book and record in order. We also open bank accounts and manage cash, so the day-to-day running of your company doesn't land back on your desk.

A missed filing is a problem you didn't need. Your lead director is a decision-maker, not a gatekeeper, so questions get answered quickly. For law firms and advisers, that means one point of contact for your client's Jersey entities, and one less thing to chase. Setting up a new company? Start with company formation.

Accounting and reporting

Corporate accounting in Jersey, done to the standard you report in. VG prepares statutory accounts under FRS 102 (UK GAAP), IFRS, US GAAP and other international standards, and files them with the relevant local authorities.

Accounting and reporting

Day to day, we keep the books, produce your financial reports and management accounts, and handle tax and VAT registration and administration. When the auditors arrive, we support the audit and your internal controls. When investors ask questions, we prepare the reporting they need.

Operating in more than one jurisdiction? Then you're dealing with different local rules, different formats and different deadlines. That's a lot of time spent keeping up. Hand it to one team that keeps track of all of them. You get accurate numbers on time, a director-led team you can reach directly, and a fee quote that tells you what it costs before we start. If the work goes beyond the agreed scope, we tell you first.

Real estate funds

Real estate fund administration in Jersey covers the fund and every property-holding SPV beneath it, from acquisition to sale.

Real estate funds

Property funds have more moving parts than most. Several SPVs. Financing on different assets. Valuations, tenants and investors who want to know what's happening. We keep the fund and its SPVs in order: governance, accounts, investor reporting and regulatory compliance across the whole structure.

Whatever the strategy, acquisition, development, financing, letting or buy-and-hold, the administration follows it. Every client relationship is director-led, so you deal directly with people who can make decisions.

Escrow and paying agent services

A cash escrow agent holds money for the parties to a deal until agreed conditions are met. Then it pays out. Not before. VG acts as cash escrow agent in the UK and Jersey on M&A, property and finance transactions.

Escrow and paying agent services

Here's how it works. Before any money moves, the parties agree the release conditions in an escrow agreement. That might be completion, a regulatory approval or the end of a warranty period. We hold the cash in a separate account. When the conditions are met and the agreed instructions arrive, we release it.

What if the parties disagree? The money stays put. We only release it as the escrow agreement allows, typically on joint written instructions or a court order. (Please confirm the currencies that VG can hold.)

M&A deal teams; corporate treasuries and their lawyers get an escrow agent that works to the deal timetable. You'll always know where the money is and what has to happen before it moves.

Loan and facility agency

An independent loan agency in the UK puts a neutral party between borrower and lenders. As facility agent, VG administers the loan under the loan documents: notices, lender records, interest and fee calculations, and payments in and out.

Loan and facility agency

Facility agent or security trustee? It's a common question. The facility agent runs the loan's administration. The security trustee holds the security, such as charges over property or shares, on behalf of all the lenders, and enforces it if needed. Both act on the lenders' instructions. One firm can do both. VG does.

Our facility agent services are used by private credit funds, direct lenders, specialty finance and real estate debt managers. Decisions such as waivers, amendments or acceleration follow lender instructions, at the thresholds set in the documents. We run the process. The lenders make the call.

You'll know exactly how we work and where your work is with us.

TISE listing services

TISE listing services help you list debt and real estate instruments on The International Stock Exchange (TISE). VG is a TISE listing member and can act as listing agent or sponsor for issuers and their lawyers.

TISE listing services

Listing gives your securities a recognised exchange home, with the transparency that comes with it. We prepare and manage the listing application and work with TISE through the process. Once listed, ongoing obligations apply under TISE's listing rules. We keep track of them, so your listing stays in good standing.

Already using VG for the SPV, trustee or agency roles? Your listing can sit with the same team.

Shariah-compliant funds

Shariah-compliant funds need two things done right: the fund administration, and the Shariah principles behind it. VG sets up and runs Shariah-compliant funds, including real estate funds.

Shariah-compliant funds

The fund's Shariah advisers approve the structure and its investments. VG administers the fund. That split matters. Investors get Shariah sign-off from the people qualified to give it, and day-to-day administration from a team that runs Shariah-compliant funds alongside conventional ones.

We understand the cultural requirements behind these funds, and why getting the detail right matters. For fund managers, institutional investors and their lawyers, that means a team that knows the structure as well as the fund.

Every client relationship is director-led, so you deal directly with people who can make decisions.

Islamic finance

Islamic finance administration in Jersey means setting up and running the corporate and real estate structures behind Shariah-compliant deals. Your Shariah advisers approve the structure. VG administers it, working alongside your lawyers and advisers.

Islamic finance

Different cultures. Different requirements. The detail has to be right, and the people running your structure need to understand why. VG was named Best Islamic Trust Formation Services Provider at the Global Islamic Finance Awards three years running, from 2016 to 2018. In practice, that has included using a Commodity Murabaha to help a client expand a property portfolio through Shariah-compliant lenders.

Wherever you are, you deal directly with the people running your structure.

Who you’ll work with

Named people, not a department

Frequently asked questions

What is a JPUT?

A Jersey Property Unit Trust (JPUT) is a Jersey unit trust widely used to hold UK and European real estate. Investors like its flexibility and familiar trust structure. How it's taxed depends on the investors and the deal, so your tax adviser should confirm the treatment before you buy.

Can you provide directors for property SPVs?

Yes. Your SPVs get Jersey-resident directors who support governance and substance. They read your facility agreement and give you a clear answer on consents, quickly.

Do you handle Register of Overseas Entities filings?

Yes. We register overseas entities that hold UK land and keep the annual updates on time, as part of running your structure.

Can you act on the financing too?

Yes. Our Capital Markets team acts as escrow agent, loan agent and security trustee on property deals.

Can you structure Shariah-compliant property investment?

Yes. We set up and run Shariah-compliant property structures, including Commodity Murabaha financing through Shariah-compliant lenders. Your Shariah advisers sign off each stage, and our Dubai team can meet Gulf investors locally.

Do you manage the properties themselves?

No. Your asset manager and property managers look after the buildings and tenants. We look after the structure behind them: the companies, accounts, lender reporting and filings.

Where we are

Jersey • UK • Middle East

Talk to us. Wherever you are in the deal.

No pitch. No pressure. A straight conversation with the director who'd be on your deal.