Estate leaders 'not selling unless offer is right'

The Sark Estate covers about 20% of the island and includes dozens of residential and commercial properties

The trustees of the Barclay estate, which covers about 20% of the island of Sark, have said they have no plans to sell it to a company unless a suitable offer is received, a letter says.

The Sark Property Company (SPC) last year announced its intention to buy the properties, previously owned by the late Sir David Barclay, and has now made a bid.

In a letter to Sark politicians seen by the BBC, the trustees of the estate said they doubted SPC's ability to raise the money needed to buy the properties.

Christopher Beaumont, director of the SPC and Seigneur of Sark, said: "Our bid is backed by cash, our investment case is solid, and our intention is to create the right environment for Sark to thrive."

The company said on Monday it had put a cash bid in, which represented "market value for the estate, plus a premium" and was valid for 30 days.

Beaumont said: "Should the bid be successful, we will engage with all tenants of properties within the portfolio to listen to their aspirations for the future.

"We will always be open to discussion and look forward to working with Sark's residents for mutual benefit."

The trustees said any purchaser would need to demonstrate they could develop the estate

The Barclay estate in Sark, known as the Sark Estate, also includes more than 80 residential properties, five hotels and 19 commercial premises.

Earlier this month, the SPC said it wanted to raise at least £20m for the deal.

However, the estate's trustees said in the letter they had "no intention of selling the estate to SPC unless a suitable offer is received".

"The numbers reported in the press are a fraction of the estate's true worth and we doubt their ability to raise a suitable amount," they said.

Sark Estate Management, which manages the properties, is owned by Alistair Barclay, heir of the late Sir David Barclay.

'Suitable custodian'

The SPC's directors had said about 100 people were interested in investing in the company, with pledges of between £25,000 and £4m.

In an investment prospectus filed with Guernsey's financial regulator, the company stated it wanted to raise a minimum of £20m for the project.

The SPC said any sale would be "subject to Sark’s Property Transfer Tax of 7.5%, representing an immediate, major boost for the island’s challenging financial situation".

The letter from trustees said they wanted to reassure residents as the issue had "caused consternation amongst Chief Pleas and our tenants".

Trustees said: "If there was a suitable purchaser that made an offer acceptable to the trustee, they would equally have to demonstrate that they could be a suitable custodian that can take work on developing the estate further and that will work with the Chief Pleas and the population on Sark.

"At this stage, there is no such person."