A match made on the high street

Monday 08 April 2019

A match-making scheme aimed at saving the high street has been launched by Guernsey entrepreneur Stuart Mosely.

He wants to get the new scheme up and running here first, then promote it elsewhere, helping landlords fill their properties, while finding businesses affordable premises.

With news of shops closing across Guernsey on an almost weekly basis, Mr Mosely and his team have designed a website to give those landlords with empty properties, and prospective tenants who are looking for a base, a platform to broker a deal, so both sides can get the best arrangement, while knowing the full costs and timeframes involved. 

Pictured: Beghins shut suddenly in February. 

In just the first three months of 2019, Guernsey has lost Beghins, HMV, Jack Wills, Miss Selfridge, Escape and the Press Shop, all within a very small area within the very centre of town. 

Pure Boutique in Mill Street is also closing as the proprietor is moving overseas, while just out of town, the owners of Creature Comforts have warned they may have to close in the face of competition from a UK chain store which opened up nearby last year, coupled with other challenges.

There have been some positive retail stories so far this year too, with Purpul Gifts on Mill Street and The Pickle Pad in the Commercial Arcade both among those taking on empty properties to launch their businesses.

Pictured: The recently opened Purpul shop on Mill Street.

But, in light of the overall rising number of empty commercial properties, Mr Mosely and his small team of business professionals said they have developed the Empty.Rentals website to try and match them up with prospective tenants. 

Keen long-distance runner Mr Mosely said he first thought about the concept while training on the south coast cliffs.

“The environment that we have here allows for clear thinking space to formulate creative ideas and concepts, this being one of them; I just had to take this idea to market,” he said.

He said it’s clear that some properties in the centre of St Peter Port have been empty for some time, and it is those sites which Empty.Rentals will be targeting initially. 

The site has been designed to marry two key factors together, by allowing landlords to publish their empty properties available for rent on the site while specifying a minimum rental term, along with the minimum monthly rental value they are happy to accept. 

It is also being offered as a cost-effective exercise for the landlords, said Mr Mosely. “At Empty.Rentals, we don’t charge to register to use our site, we only take a small cut of any initial rental payment from the landlord and tenant, plus a small cut of any rental extension agreements, so no upfront fees are payable to Empty.Rentals, just a small fee once a property rental has been agreed.”

While the site has only just been launched, using Guernsey as a testbed, Mr Mosely is confident that it has great potential to make an impact globally, with many of the issues being experienced in the Channel Islands mirroring what is happening elsewhere in the retail and commercial sectors. 

As the new site is being launched in Guernsey, there is already consideration being given to rolling it out elsewhere offering the matchmaking service to businesses and high streets in need in larger areas, which are facing the same problems as St Peter Port. 

“The benefits are more than just landlords getting an income and enabling small businesses to set up shop, it also helps the regeneration of the high street which will have a major impact on local social issues for councils or town planners.

“While the idea was born on Guernsey's south coast cliffs it’s not specifically aimed at the Channel Islands high streets. It is aimed at the all towns and cities that are struggling to maintain footfall and fill their empty commercial properties.”

Pictured top: Stuart Mosely.