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By Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque London:

There are many bells ringing for the departure of hedge fund managers from London, but not many suitcases have been packed so far.

But we heard this week-end that London financier Guy Hands had “pledged not to set foot in the UK for two years in protest at the government's lack of clarity over its 90-day tax rule” – setting up his offices in Guernsey instead (coverage).

FT.com reported last month that some of Britain’s biggest hedge funds had warned the UK Treasury they would be forced to leave the country unless the draft European directive was radically changed. “Some have already begun back-up preparations to move to Switzerland in case the rules are not rewritten. New York is also a possible destination” (coverage). And David Butler, from the London-based consultancy Kinetic Partners, told Bloomberg.com in May that he expected a “mass migration” of hedge funds from London to Switzerland following news of increased taxes and the prospect of increased EU regulations on alternative investment managers (as mentioned in our 26-May ......................

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