Why a professional offshore Trustee can make all the difference in your Employee Benefit Trust
When it comes to employee share plans, many companies, even large, sophisticated ones, still manage their plans without the use of Employee Benefit Trusts (EBT) or even manage their EBT in-house. Sometimes it works. But often, businesses stand to gain significantly by partnering with a professional offshore trustee.
Whether your company is privately held or publicly listed, a well-structured EBT is a powerful tool for attracting, motivating, and retaining top talent. And the expertise, objectivity, and efficiency that a professional trustee brings can be the difference between a plan that performs and one that underdelivers.
Clarity on a Complex Journey
The initial decision to introduce a share plan is usually straightforward. The complexity begins once implementation is underway: determining the structure, navigating regulations, ensuring fair administration, and balancing stakeholder interests.
Most share plans, particularly those with long-term strategic value, involve an EBT. The critical question then becomes: do you manage that trust in-house, or work with a professional offshore trustee?
Here’s why the latter option is often the smarter, more secure route.
Independent Oversight: Mitigating Conflicts of Interest
An EBT’s core duty is to its beneficiaries, typically the employees, former employees, and their families, not the employing company. In practice, when a company manages its own trust (often via a subsidiary), the lines can blur.
Even with the best of intentions, internal trustee boards are often composed of colleagues who know or work alongside the very individuals impacted by the trust’s decisions. This creates not just a risk of conflict of interest, but often the perception of it which can damage trust among employees and raise concerns with investors or regulators.
A professional offshore trustee operates with independence and impartiality, ensuring that decisions are made in the best interests of beneficiaries without internal pressure or bias. It’s governance, done right.
Governance & Transparency: Supporting ESG and Stakeholder Confidence
Across both private and listed companies, there’s an increasing focus on good governance, fairness, and transparency, driven by ESG principles and stakeholder scrutiny.
By engaging an independent offshore trustee, companies demonstrate a clear commitment to responsible governance in their incentive arrangements. This matters to employees, institutional investors, remuneration committees, and regulators alike.
A professional trustee adds not only technical compliance, but a layer of credible, auditable governance, a key asset for businesses operating in today’s environment of accountability and transparency.
Experience Where It Matters Most
Jersey has been a global leader in EBT trusteeship for more than 30 years. It combines a trusted legal framework with deep professional expertise, particularly in incentive arrangements and complex corporate structures.
While EBTs share some characteristics with traditional trusts, they come with their own unique rules, nuances, and risks. Partnering with a Jersey-based trustee who specialises in employee incentive trusts ensures your structure is not only compliant, but agile, effective, and fit for purpose.
From nominee services and confidential shareholding arrangements to liquidity planning and corporate actions, an experienced trustee helps reduce risk, enhance outcomes, and often solve challenges clients didn’t anticipate a trustee could help with.
Scalability & Flexibility as You Grow
Whether you're scaling rapidly, preparing for an IPO, or already listed, your EBT needs to evolve with your business. A professional trustee ensures your structure is ready for:
International growth
New shareholder classes or investor input
Exit planning or corporate transactions
Cross-border regulatory requirements
In essence, you gain a trusted partner who can evolve with your needs, not just manage static administration.
Tax Efficiency and Legislative Acknowledgement
Jersey-based EBTs offer significant advantages, not just in governance and flexibility, but in tax treatment. They can potentially shelter trust assets from UK Capital Gains Tax and operate in line with UK tax rules for employee incentives.
In 2014, the UK government considered, but ultimately rejected, the idea of introducing an onshore alternative to offshore Employee Benefit Trusts. The decision reflected a recognition that well-regulated offshore jurisdictions, particularly Jersey, offer a robust, flexible, and policy-aligned solution for delivering employee share incentives.
This alignment between offshore trusteeship and UK incentive policy adds confidence for businesses and boards considering these structures.
Value That Justifies the Investment
Naturally, cost is a consideration. But when compared to the value a professional trustee brings, from risk reduction to administrative relief, from governance enhancement to, in some cases, tax efficiency, it becomes a clear investment, not just an expense.
What’s more, Fiduchi offers predictable, transparent fee models - a welcome benefit for finance teams seeking budget certainty.
In contrast, managing an EBT in-house often proves a false economy, especially when internal teams lack the specialised knowledge needed to navigate the evolving complexity of incentive structures.
Not Just for the Listed
While listed companies absolutely benefit from the structure, support, and integrity that a professional offshore trustee provides, private companies often see the greatest impact. For growing businesses or those planning future transactions, this support can be transformational.
Whether you're designing a new share plan, reviewing an existing trust, or preparing for your next growth milestone, now is the right time to explore how offshore trusteeship could elevate your approach.
Let’s Talk
At Fiduchi, we help both listed and privately owned companies implement and administer share plans with confidence, clarity, and care. Our specialist team draws on decades of experience to help you unlock the full value of your EBT and help deliver incentive arrangements that inspire your people and support your growth.
For more information, please contact Tom Hicks, Pearl Rabet or click here to read more about Employee Incentives.