There’s a promising outlook for commercial property in Guernsey in 2016, says Ogier partner Martyn Baudains.
Speaking to BL magazine this month Martyn, who set up Ogier’s Guernsey property team in 2015, reports that while the island’s commercial property market has slowed after an intensive period of development, there’s good news in all sectors.
"Property in Guernsey hasn’t torn away in 2015, but there have been some sizeable deals, which is promising,” says Martyn.
He cites the sale of one of the island’s most valuable properties – Trafalgar Court – as well as prominent sales of Dorey and Martello Courts, and the development of the old GT Cars and Les Caches sites, as confidence in the island that, last year, some feared would disappear.
In the occupational market in Guernsey, the lack of supply is helping to maintain rents. "There’s not much Grade A available for rent and the price is probably holding up well at about £35-36 per square foot" he says.
"Guernsey’s high street is quite positive, with some lease renewals, so nobody is going anywhere else," he says. "There’s a lot of enthusiasm in the restaurant trade. For instance, Randalls have taken the old slaughterhouse site, Burger King is supposed to be coming to Guernsey and other restaurants have opened up. Industrial space is also filling up again, bringing a balance to the market."
Guernsey is introducing Document Duty on share transfer transactions, but it’s not yet known what impact that will have. Martyn believes that three per cent duty will be the typical amount paid. "There might be a slight price adjustment but I don’t know that it’s going to make a massive difference," he says.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
