Gibraltar is this year's winner of the Offshore Finance Award, given by UK-based finance magazine Investment International, after the magazine carried out a mail and web poll of its readers. "Gibraltar is a surprise winner in the international finance centre category," a spokesperson from the magazine said. "The rival offshore centres of the Channel islands and Isle of Man are better known for deposit taking while jurisdictions such as the Cayman islands and the Bahamas are known for their corporate structures." Gibraltar has become increasingly popular with British expats and investors, and the financial services industry constitutes about one-third of its economy. "This is yet another well deserved accolade for the status and reputation that Gibraltar now enjoys in the field of international financial services," said a spokesman for the government of Gibraltar.