High net worth relocations to Guernsey are booming

Wednesday 09 February 2022

Locate Guernsey estimates that the island is making a financial return of nearly £4 on every £1 the States invest supporting wealthy people to move to Guernsey.

The agency has published what it said were "exceptional figures" for 2021 showing a minimum financial return of 380% on its States-funded budget of £325,000.

The number of relocations to Guernsey last year was up significantly on the year before. And a local estate agent says the open market is busier than ever.

The President of Economic Development, Deputy Neil Inder, said: “It is very encouraging to see another successful year for Locate Guernsey as more and more families and business owners see the appeal of the island.”

Pictured: Deputy Neil Inder's Committee for Economic Development, which oversees Locate Guernsey, is celebrating an exceptional year for relocations to Guernsey and open market housing transactions. 

Locate Guernsey is an arm of the States. It is responsible for assisting people who want to relocate to Guernsey themselves or move their businesses to the island.

In the States' 2021 Budget, Locate Guernsey was allocated £325,000 from the Future Guernsey Economic Fund.

The agency said that it used that budget to help support 45 relocations to Guernsey - an increase of 17 from the year before. 

Unlike Locate Jersey, its counterpart in the sister island, dealing with Locate Guernsey is not an obligatory part of the process of relocating. Therefore, the number of people permanently relocating to Guernsey in 2021 could have been much higher than the number known to Locate Guernsey. 

Additionally, Locate received a 64% increase in enquiries from 2020 to 2021.

“The continued increase in relocations each year is a true testament to all that Guernsey has to offer and it’s fantastic to see continued interest in our beautiful island from around the world,” said the Director of Locate Guernsey, Jo Stoddart. 

Pictured: Locate Guernsey tries to roll out the red carpet when high net worth individuals come to Guernsey expressing an interest in permanently relocating their lives and businesses.

People using Locate Guernsey are often high net worth individuals buying open market properties. Ms Stoddart said they bring tremendous value to the island.

“If you look at it – it’s a 380% return on investment. For every pound Guernsey invests in Locate Guernsey, we return at least £3.81,” she said. 

But Ms Stoddart said the real value relocators bring to the island could be much higher. 

“We can only really track the document duty of people who buy properties because that’s really the only information that is in the public domain. 

“We’re looking at a minimum of 380% because we don’t have any access to statistics about how much tax people might be paying, how much rental income they might be paying, what they might be paying on school fees, how many staff they employ, etc.”

Pictured: The open housing market is limited by law - with around 1,700 houses available.

Locate Guernsey's bumper year was reflected in a record-breaking year for the open market.

“The open market had a record number of transactions last year,” said Savills Director Nick Paluch. “It was the highest since records began.”

There were 127 open market transactions in 2021, comfortably exceeding the previous yearly record of 101 in 2006.

Mr Paluch said he has seen many young couples among those relocating to Guernsey. 

“There’s a really nice demographic of people moving here – particularly more young entrepreneurs, which is a good thing for Guernsey," he said.

“I think we’re already seeing good signs that it is going to continue.

"I’m not sure if we’ll be able to surpass 2021, but I think we should see really good activity carry into 2022.”