Earlier today Gibraltar announced a number of measures to assist the economy of Gibraltar as we navigate these unchartered waters.
Paraphrasing the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, he said: “The state of the nation is in flux. We are living in unprecedented times. The virus is coming at us at exponential speed, not only to the body but to our economy. Bars and restaurants are closed, mass gatherings banned. Gibraltar is closed for tourists. Society is not functioning normally. He quoted Star Trek – “it’s life, but not as we know it”. Freedom of movement for the over seventies is curtailed. The focus of government is the safety and security of our people. The GHA will have whatever it needs to deal with this virus. The economic measures announced may be updated as time goes on.”
Key measures include:
• Change the financial year to 30th September 2020, an extension of 6 months in this year (a period of 18 months) and the new financial year will start 1 October 2020
• Government rainy day funds in ready available cash is c £150m
• Borrowing will be increased but to remain within 40% of GDP – which means a maximum of c £980m could be borrowed based on a forecast GDP of £2.44bn – an additional c £500m of borrowing is possible and the government is confident that they have access to available funds from lending institutions
• Things will get worse before they get better, so we are planning for the worst whilst hoping for the best
• Local banks have already accepted that a loan extended is better than a loan defaulted
• Grateful to landlords for reducing, postponing or eradicating commercial rents in line with prior announcement
• Unions, GFSB, Chamber of Commerce, Association of Landlords and GFSC to meet tomorrow, Saturday, to review measures to support businesses and their employees to stay afloat and their emoployees to stay employed and paid
• Asking employers not to lay off staff pending new rules and support for businesses, with a cost sharing mechanism between employer, employee and government, perhaps one third each but to be discussed
• Temporary power granted to allow government to make swift decisions subject to the approval of the leader of the opposition but not via parliament
• Public sector workers to have continuation of salaries unaffected
• Last week the chief minister met Boris Johnson (in connection with Brexit predominantly) who has promised to help Gibraltar. To this end, government has written to the UK government with a series of request support measures and the chief minister spoke yesterday to the UK financial secretary in respect of a meaningful package of measures for businesses and the government to avail itself
• Hotel industry – immediate financial package to continue trading and pay staff, especially so as the GHA may need access for additional space
• Border remains fluid for goods, services and people as long as the Spanish state of emergency rules are respected – goods are crossing normally, other workers are encouraged to work from home
• Gaming industry – new framework to understand their needs, annual licence fee due 1 April delayed to 1 July, PAYE payments also deferred temporarily
• Measures to stop profiteering if it happens, thus far there has only been kindness across the community
• Call for social and national unity, human solidarity
• A different Gibraltar will emerge from this crisis, a society built on respect. The age of entitlement is over
The UK is supporting its economy in a similar fashion and borrowing costs are now the lowest since the Bank of England was established in 1694.
Meanwhile, as a business, Chestertons Gibraltar will remain open for as long as we are allowed to. This week, our sales team has managed three completions and our lettings team is busy with new flexible rentals for people wishing to stay in Gibraltar for the foreseeable future or to assist their families reduce their social interaction. This is especially true where families live with parents aged over 70. Our off-plan division has also achieved some great successes this week so we are confident that savvy investors see this era as a short term hit rather than a long term correction.
If you are facing difficulties with conventional office space, or urgently need to relocate team members to a local office, our staff can help find the right solution. We have access to workspace on flexible terms and can offer short-term emergency spaces to accommodate satellite teams.
Those vendors who rewarded us with a sole agency instruction will I trust, be pleased to hear that the video tours that we took as part of the instruction are available 24/7 on our website and are being published one a day across our social media. Most potential purchasers will have more time on their hands currently and may welcome these video tours as an opportunity to view properties they are currently unwilling or unable to visit now but may have an interest in the future.
We welcome you to our daily cleaned offices where we have stopped shaking hands but retain a good supply of antibacterial gel. Or you can contact us via telephone +350 200 40041 or email info@chestertons.gi. We also post to social media daily so you can see what is happening.We take our role in the Gibraltar community very seriously so if you require anything from us or are aware of any vulnerable people in Gibraltar that could use our help, please let us know. Many of our staff based in Gibraltar have also volunteered to assist the COVID19 Community Response Team.
Currently around 900 residents have enlisted which typifies the strength of the feeling that we are in this together.
This scenario is moving quickly and we will do our utmost to look after our staff, clients, family, loved ones and the community in which we operate.
We believe that the speed with which we entered this lockdown era will, in due course, be mirrored by the speed of the subsequent incline. Let’s hope so.
Stay safe.
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Contributed by Mike Nicholls
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