Frequently Asked Questions
The following section is addressing points that members of the public and other stakeholders have repeatedly asked us about.
If you have questions that we haven't answered yet, please do not hesitate to contact us.
If you are a media organisation that requires more information, please contact Dan at Orchard PR.
Who owns the Sark Property Company?
The Sark Property Company is currently a 100% subsidiary of Sarnia Asset Management Limited, a fund management company licensed by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.
At this stage, Sarnia AM acts as incubator for the Sark Property Company's plans. Longer-term, the company will be spun off and run independently in close collaboration with key partners.
What are you looking to invest in?
We are not limited in the range of investments we can pursue: residential or commercial real estate, infrastructure, or ancillary areas such as local businesses. We could also act as a first-loss guarantor to help kickstart a bank-operated mortgage programme.
The only limiting factor is that any investments we carry out have to fit into a longer-term plan for Sark that protects what makes the island special while making it resilient and fit for the future, and producing attractive returns for our investors.
Will you invest in Sark's energy sector?
Our capital structure will allow us to invest in Sark's energy sector, if suitable conditions are met. Using our access to capital, we would be able to purchase existing energy-related facilities or create new ones. The Sark Property Company would like to see Sark's long-standing energy issues resolved in a way that is economical and makes the island more resilient. As a side benefit, if we were to invest, it would take pressure off Chief Pleas' potentially utilising scarce taxpayer resources.
What do residents think about a potential transformation of Sark?
We have hired The Prince's Foundation to carry out an initial assessment of what the residents think. This assessment led to a report that the Prince's Foundation and the Sark Property Company published in full.
Maintaining Sark’s character is a non-negotiable element of our potential involvement as large investor.
You can download a copy of the report here.
Will you turn Sark into an island that is just for rich people?
All of our existing financial modelling envisions the construction of a mix of low-cost housing and higher end housing. It's clear that the island can only be resilient if it caters to all income classes.
In the UK, planning laws require property developers to make available a certain percentage of their housing to lower income groups. The UK's planning requirements are guiding our planning, to the degree it makes sense for a remote, small and self-governing island like Sark.
Will you bring lots of "ghost residents" to Sark?
Our director, Swen Lorenz, has been lobbying publicly for years to introduce a physical presence requirement for all residents of 90 days per year. Currently, the law on Sark makes it possible to claim tax residency on the island even if you spend 0 days there, which creates problems because empty houses don't support vital local businesses.
Swen published articles about this in 2020 (see here and here). In 2021, he advised a Committee of Chief Pleas on how to introduce suitable legislation.
Chief Pleas has been trying since 2014 to change this part of its legislation, but it hasn't done so to this day. Our company feels strongly that any resident needs to have a genuine connection to the island. Until Chief Pleas resolves this legal loophole, the Sark Property Company will require its tenants through private contracts to be there for a minimum period each year, and it will encourage other landlords on the island to do the same.
What is your idea for increasing the island's population?
Sark currently has a population of 500-600. The island has manifold issues due to its small population, such as local businesses not being able to stay open during winter; insufficient schooling options, and many key jobs (such as that of the island doctor) being quite unsustainable. We do believe that the island needs to reach a critical mass of residents to function properly and become resilient.
What the "right" number should be is a question we are currently seeking expert advice on. This is why we are lobbying for an island wide development plan, which we are willing to pay for.
It is a little-known fact that the existing housing stock on Sark could easily accommodate ≈1,200 people if it were used more effectively. Even just putting the large number of derelict houses back into use would make space for several hundred additional residents (while taking care of the issue of blight in what is an island that lives largely off tourism).
Currently, Sark's population density (i.e. residents per square mile) is 10% that of Guernsey's. A master plan would like focus an increase in population on specific areas (e.g., areas of low ecological value), while protecting other areas from any future development.
Are you going to provide mortgages to island residents?
Mortgages are legally possible since 2021, but no bank is offering them yet. Sark is deemed too risky, too small and too complex for a bank to get involved. However, we have successfully engaged a bank that we have a strong relationship with – Butterfield Group – and are working to facilitate the launch of a Sark mortgage programme. See also this letter from our director Swen Lorenz to island residents dating 17 April 2023.
Will you offer residency programmes such as "Citizenship by Investment" or "Digital Nomad" visas?
We have no plans to get involved with such programmes. Immigration to Sark is regulated by the Guernsey Border Agency which in turn leans heavily on the UK for its immigration regulation. Who gets to move to Sark, is purely down to existing laws which the Sark Property Company has no influence over.
Notably, there are currently at least 73m people who can legally move to Sark without any visa, provided they find a place to live – that's all British and Irish citizens, besides a few million EU citizens who have a "Pre-settled" or "Settled" status. The island is currently facing a lot of pressure from inbound new residents who move to the island through existing legislation, facilitated through the Chief Pleas' website section "Living on Sark".
With its current legislation, Sark runs a very real risk of gradually turning into a place that only caters for the wealthy over time. It is extraordinary that a jurisdiction with just 500 residents effectively has an open door policy for over 73m potential residents; and all the more so when record-high tax rates in the UK and Ireland are creating pressure on high earners to move elsewhere.
Our company would support an effort to create tailor-made immigration regulation for Sark – which would be a matter for Chief Pleas. We also feel that zoning and master planning is necessary to create a housing market that is guaranteed to cater to all income groups.
How will you ensure only reputable investors get involved?
As a fund management company that is licensed by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, Sarnia Asset Management has to put all of its clients through stringent due diligence procedures.
Over and above these legal requirements, we have a process in place to ensure that we only accept investors who buy into our overall vision for Sark.
We expect the majority of our investment to come from investors who are based on the British Isles, Western Europe and the Americas (though we are not excluding other parts of the world to add to the pool of investment).
Also, we will have a range of investors, with no single investor controlling the majority.
Subject to legal restrictions, we are intending to make investment in our company available to residents of the Channel Islands; with as accessible an investment threshold as possible.
Will the public learn more about the exact nature of the investments you are planning?
We are working with Orchard, a Guernsey-based communications agency, to help keep the public extensively informed through ongoing media work. Our company will only get involved with long-term plans for Sark if we feel that we have the support of the public – in Sark, but also in Guernsey and elsewhere.
To this end, we will be more transparent than any other business in Sark has ever been.
What advantages will your initiative bring to local businesses in Sark?
We see the following needs and benefits:
Many Sark businesses seem to suffer due to a lack of critical mass. Too few residents to keep key businesses alive.
Difficulty of finding staff, often due to lack of affordable housing.
Not enough business opportunities outside of the main tourist season.
No access to business loans, equity investment, or expert advice.
Too little in terms of joint marketing and media / PR.
Access to new markets, e.g. visitors from France.
Local produce sold elsewhere, e.g. Sark meat going off island.
The Sark Property Company continues to liaise closely with the Sark Chamber of Commerce to involve local businesses in planning the future and benefit from the investment we are able to facilitate.
What are the guiding principles of your company?
During our two years of evaluating potential investments in Sark, we have come to believe in the following 10 points:
Any significant investment in Sark needs to be done WITH the community, not in opposition to the community.
There are some basics that Sark cannot do without, which most likely includes:
a. Affordable housing.
b. On-island education.
c. Quality health care.
No one will ever donate money to make Sark work. The island residents are out here by themselves. It has to be commercially viable, or else nothing will happen.
Sark has to remain independent.
Sark’s unique beauty needs to be preserved.
Sark needs more people, e.g. right now it cannot even operate a bakery or a butchery.
It is vital that the Crown is broadly in agreement with any long-term plans.
Sark has the potential to become a truly unique place, and one that the rest of the world can learn from.
Investment can support Sark in resolving long-standing issues, such as:
a. Affordable energy production.
b. Harbour improvement.
c. Affordable housing.
The perfect timing for this is NOW, because of:
a. “Work from home” trend.
b. Trouble in the world and Sark as a safe haven.
c. Backlog of properties potentially available for purchase.
See also our 12 May 2023 presentation to the Sark Chamber of Commerce for more details.
Why is the Seigneur of Sark a director of the company?
The Seigneur of Sark has a direct connection to the English Crown and is the contractual counterpart to the agreement that has given Sark its self-governing status since 1565. It was vital to get his buy-in for any future plans, and it has been extremely valuable to have him involved for many of the company's efforts, such as leading the community engagement initiative with The Prince’s Foundation. The current Seigneur's prospective heir has also been involved in the company's plans from the get-go, as a vital step towards carrying out multi-generational planning.
In the current day-to-day operations, the Seigneur of Sark is very involved with the company's stakeholder outreach; whereas Swen Lorenz is focused primarily on the investment aspects.
Have you engaged with Chief Pleas?
When the Sark Property Company (then called Island Finance Limited) first invited the Prince's Foundation to an exploratory visit to Sark in December 2021, we invited several members of Chief Pleas to a dinner with the team of the Prince's Foundation. Sadly, none of them were able to attend. Instead, we had a range of residents and stakeholders attending a lunch, a dinner and several smaller meetings.
Ahead of announcing the second visit of the Prince's Foundation in April 2023, we contacted Chief Pleas' Development Control Committee as well as the Policy & Finance Committee.
The Sark Property Company will engage with any stakeholder in Sark. In the first instance, we felt it was important to maximise the number of island residents who attended the sessions of the Prince's Foundation. The turnout at this session was very high, with about a third of the island's population attending. Invites to this event had gone out through multiple channels.
Why did you not disclose that you are paying for the work of The Prince's Foundation?
It is incorrect to say that we didn't disclose that we were paying for the work of The Prince's Foundation. On 12 April 2023, we published a press release that said exactly that:
"We are paying for the cost of this exercise, and the resulting report will be made available to the public."
This press release was sent to all local media and a range of other stakeholders. You can find a copy of it in our media section.
Who are you negotiating with for the purchase of real estate on Sark?
No one who owns real estate on Sark would want to see their name and details of our discussions made available to the public. For both commercial and legal reasons, we will not generally comment on any individual discussions we have.
Amid all the investment and change, how will you preserve Sark’s character?
We are working to create a holistic plan for Sark using expert input, and then combine it with our financing experience and access to suitable investors.
The one organisation we felt has both the expertise and the natural affinity to deliver this objective assessment is The Prince's Foundation, which has been known as The King’s Foundation since the end of 2023. It has decades of experience in urban planning in the British Isles and elsewhere. Their stated practice is "working with communities and partners around the country and the world, The King's Foundation practices and champions a sustainable approach to how we live our lives and build our communities. From heritage-led regeneration through to new-build projects, we do this through assisting, advising and taking the lead."
We value their expertise and proven track record highly: "The work of The King's Foundation is inspired by King Charles’ philosophy of harmony: that by understanding the balance, the order and the relationships between ourselves and the natural world we can create a more sustainable future."
His Majesty oversees the activity of The King's Foundation and there seems to be a natural synergy between our organisation and the charity that will allow Sark to become more sustainable and resilient.
You can find out more at www.kings-foundation.org (and in the Media section of this website).
Are you guaranteed to get involved?
We are not. Following the initial two years of evaluating potential investment on Sark, we came to a stage where we had to go public with our intention and engage a broad range of shareholders. We expect that by Autumn 2024, we will be able to make a decision whether we continue with our programme of work, or not. In the meantime, we will invest significant resources into this project. E.g., the first visit of the Prince's Foundation with all ancillary costs was an investment of circa £50,000.
If we decide to step away from our intention to invest in Sark, we will leave behind our findings and learnings, such as reports from consultants, in case they are useful for any of the stakeholders of Sark.
Do you invite input from the public?
Yes, input from all stakeholders is vital. Your opinion counts!
Let us know what you think:
Your ideas, and your worries.
What do you like, what do you dislike about our plans?
What does your business need?
Could you use a mortgage?
What information would you like us to make available to you?
Would you like to sell a property?
How to better communicate on Sark?
Ideas for small events?
Speak directly with us:
Mobile / WhatsApp 07515 542 707
christopher@sarkpropertycompany.com
Mobile / WhatsApp 07781 15 15 75