b2b gibraltar - volume 8 nº 4
DESCRIPTION
B2B in GibraltarTRANSCRIPT
Gemma Araujo - The B2B Interview
Public Sector Pension - New legislation
Yacht registry - Sails forward
Trading Conditions Survey - worries revealed
Volu
me
8 N
º 4
The Quarterly Magazine of the Chamber of Commerce
More than just a Local Broker
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3
Foreword
Every four years or so Gibraltar is gripped by election fever, and
the business community is not immune to it! Far from it, we are in a position where we can help shape the future for our economy over the next term of government by lobbying all the parties to include items from our manifesto ‘wish list’.
Over the last decade and more, Gibraltar has seen many tangible and intangible developments in all spheres of our economic, social and political life under the stewardship of the current administration. The economy, in particular, has grown appreciably, which in turn has allowed improvements in our social development across many areas of Gibraltar. The economy can also boast of a low corporate tax regime, at 10% since January of this year, as well as progressively reduced personal taxation.
Politically, we have also taken significant steps forward, with the new constitution and improved relationships with the UK Government and that of Spain. While relationships with the latter are never easy, the current waters dispute being a case in point, the Córdoba Agreement was nevertheless a significant achievement, with Gibraltar for the first time sharing a forum with the UK and Spanish Governments with its own voice and representation. The achievement of this agreement has always been supported by the Chamber. The founding of the ‘Instituto Cervantes’ locally is also significant, in that these are only established outside Spain and is therefore a de facto recognition (by Spain) that Gibraltar is not Spanish. This is a small gain in the ‘eternal issue’ but, nevertheless, a gain.
This period of relative political stability has allowed Gibraltar to progress economically and it’s standing in the world has also been enhanced. In late 2011, with much of the western world in economic turmoil from the as yet unresolved issues (essentially these have their roots in uncontrolled and reckless sovereign debt) which led to the 2008 crisis, Gibraltar continues to do well.
Given the above, what do we, as a Chamber, want from the next administration? The short answer is more of the same! The next Government has to deliver the climate for Gibraltar to be able to carry on advancing.
For Gibraltar to continue to prosper, we need political stability and good economic
conditions. We of course leave it to the politicians to deliver the political stability; all we need say is that it is essential.
On the economic front, and as the Chief Minister has said, although Gibraltar has weathered the recessionary storm quite well, it is not immune to its effects. One of the features of Gibraltar’s success has been the major public works program, either completed, in progress or in the pipeline. While it is impossible to achieve agreement on all of these (the airport, for example, could have conceivably been cheaper and smaller) by and large the projects have achieved the dual goals of improving our social infrastructure and contributing to our economy.
These projects are, of course, not for free and Gibraltar has rung up considerable debt which needs to be serviced, now and for some time well into the future. This is a fact that the next administration needs to take into account. At present Gibraltar has no problem in meeting these commitments but, as has been seen recently in most of the rest of the world, things can change quite quickly, public surpluses can convert
into deficits and problems start rearing their ugly heads.
The watchword is clearly prudence going forward. It is much easier to act when things are going well. Any incoming administration needs to ensure good economic and financial management is in place to ensure our well being. Among other
issues, this will require control on recurrent expenditure, encouraging office development to address the lack of quality accommodation and putting resources into other revenue producing industries such as tourism. Also, apart from consolidating on the existing pillars of the economy, alternative and additional revenue generators need to be explored so that the economic base can be diversified and widened going forward. This will allow our economy to better shield itself against future shocks.
So with this and much more in mind your Chamber looks forward to engaging all political parties to ensure the “voice of the private sector” is heard “loud and clear” so that Gibraltar will continue to prosper and punch above our weight for many years.”
Our future – The next four years.
Chamber looks
forward to engaging
all political parties
to ensure the voice
of the private
sector is heard
loud and clear.
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5
Contents
In this issue
FOREWORD
page 3 Our future – The next four years
NEWS FEATURES
page 7 Gemma Araujo - The B2B Interview
page 11 Changes in Civil Service Pensions
page 13 Gibraltar Airport Winter 2011 Morning Rush Hour
page 15 New Opportunities for the Yacht Register
page 17 Social Media
CHAMBER NEWS
page 19 2011 Trading Conditions Survey
BUSINESS BRIEFS
page 29 MHBland - New Websites
The Early Bird Catches the Worm
page 31 IBEX come to Irish Town
page 32 The Ripple Effect
page 34 It’s a Khaima Magic...
page 36 Gibtelecom Invests in World’s Longest Fibre Optic Cable
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
page 37 Barclays Wealth Boosts Intermediaries Team
page 38 Serruya Retires, Pisharello Steps Up as Chairman at Baker Tilly
IBEX New Staff Member
New Gibraltar Law Firm
page 39 New Partners Announced at Hassans
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Fax: 200 78403
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7
News Features
Gemma Araujo - The B2B Interview
When the PSOE politician Gemma Araujo took office as
the mayor of La Linea last July 11, one of the first things she did was order a physical gesture aimed at repairing the damage caused to cross-border relations by her Popular Party predecessor, Alejandro Sánchez. Early one weekday morning, she watched as municipal workmen demolished the infrastructure put in place by the former PP mayor as part of his failed plan to impose a charge on vehicles leaving Gibraltar. It was a token that was well received on the Rock, where people had breathed a collective sigh of relief at the departure of Mr Sánchez and his team.
Now, in a wide-ranging interview with B2B, Mrs Araujo leaves no doubt that La Linea´s town council sees Gibraltar not as a threat, but as an ally. La Linea, she concedes, is verging on bankruptcy. Gibraltar, she quickly adds, will play a significant role in its economic recovery.
“I believe Gibraltar´s role is crucial,” she says. “It was important to make a gesture and show Gibraltar that we were different, that our intentions were not the same as the PP’s.”
“All the municipalities have been hit by the crisis and unemployment, but La Linea has always had the salvation that you can go and work in Gibraltar.”
“In that respect, we also have to be self-critical as an administration. People go to work in Gibraltar because we have not been able to generate employment here, or in the surrounding areas.”
“Gibraltar has been the cushion that has softened the blow of the economic crisis in La Linea, even though the impact has nonetheless been significant.”
Mrs Araujo, 32, illustrates that economic contribution by reflecting on the damage caused by Mr Sánchez´s tough position on the Rock. Mr Sánchez had rarely recognised that Gibraltar was a source of direct and indirect revenue for La Linea and the surrounding Campo de Gibraltar. He had opted instead for a negative analysis, arguing that La Linea was vital to the Rock ´s success but that the town did not benefit from it. That entrenched position - and most of all, the hare-brained toll idea -led to many Gibraltarians avoiding the Spanish border town in protest. For the new PSOE mayor, the PP had followed a flawed strategy that backfired and impacted negatively on La Linea.
“For us, Gibraltar is an opportunity,” Mrs Araujo says. “Not only because there are Spanish people working there, but because of the opportunities for Gibraltarian interests to set up here and, above all, because of the revenue created by Gibraltarians who come across the border to shop here.”
“There is no doubt that those revenues dropped during that time and I regret the silence that there was on this issue, which was directly impacting on the economy of our municipality. During this period of direct confrontation under Alejandro Sánchez – and I personalise it in him because time has shown that it was his policy, not that of the wider municipality – there was a significant drop in that source of revenue, and we and our businessmen noticed that.”
“We realised the significant income that Gibraltar generated for our community.” “I think we need to forget this period.”
Difficult Times
Mrs Araujo took office at a time when La Linea was reeling economically. The city has nearly 10,000 people registered as unemployed. Its town council owes tens of millions of Euros and cannot even afford to pay its 850-strong workforce. Every day outside her office, union activists and municipal workers protest loudly over unpaid wages. It has been this way for over a year and the protests have, on occasion, led to severe disruption to frontier traffic. When she became mayor, the workers were owed over €5m in unpaid salaries. Although some of that has now been paid off, the bill continues to rise. La Linea, its new mayor admits, requires some strong medicine.
To explore how Gibraltar might play a role in La Linea´s economic recovery, it is first necessary to understand the depth of the problems its town council faces. The monthly bill for municipal salaries is currently €1.4m, without including social security payments. La Linea receives €15m from the state every year but those payments are currently frozen because the council has a debt for social security and tax running to nearly €40m. From the Junta de Andalucia it receives €2.8m, while its taxes are collected on its behalf by the Diputación de Cádiz and amount to some €18m.
“With that income, a normal town council would have enough if the bill for salaries was lower,” Mrs Araujo says. “That is our objective, reducing the salary bill.”
“When all the income that a town council receives is earmarked to pay salaries, then other services suffer and that is the situation we are currently living.”
In practice, the size of the municipal salary bill means that La Linea struggles to find the cash to pay for routine work ranging from painting street markings and replacing street
8
News Features
lights to fixing pot holes in the road. Public services and infrastructure deteriorate and this impacts not only on the people who live there, some of whom are Gibraltarians, but also on the people who move through the city, including people who live on the Rock.
“We find it hard to pay for the basic, essential things, and this has a direct repercussion on La Linea´s citizens who are now paying for the wasteful policies of the past,” she says.
“For many years, La Linea has lived beyond its means. Now we´re dragging a deficit and an accumulated debt as a result, and the current situation is serious.”
To tackle the municipal salary bill, La Linea´s town council is working to meet current payments while whittling away the debt as and when it is possible. In parallel, it is also working to reduce costs by removing benefits such as bonuses, expenses and the like. It has also moved to close down municipal companies that do not provide essential services or value for money. The list includes the municipal TV station, which was closed in August with the loss of 22 jobs. Ultimately, it will also mean redundancies to scale back the size of the municipal workforce.
“I know that these are difficult, unpopular measures, but I have accepted that this is a role I have to play,” Mrs Araujo says. “Until those measures are taken, this town council will not be able to recover and move ahead.”
Mrs Araujo uses her own salary to illustrate the cuts that she feels are necessary. Some of the council workers are paid very large salaries, much higher than what Mrs Araujo herself gets paid. The mayor receives an annual gross salary of €53,000, while some civil servants in La Linea are paid close to €100,000 a year.
“If everyone makes a sacrifice that reflects the current circumstances, then maybe we won´t have to lose that many people,” she says. “Salaries that are too high will have to come down, that´s the way it is.”
All of this might seem like a recipe for labour strife but Mrs Araujo has so far largely avoided the conflicts that were bread and butter during the days of Alejandro Sánchez. She has worked to recover dialogue with the unions
and to some extent has been successful.
Although the unions protest daily outside her office, the turnout
at these demonstrations is low and most workers appear to be biding their time in the hope that she will find a way through the financial tangle. With cutbacks on the horizon, they are also wary of raising their heads too far above the parapet. As such, the protests have become largely symbolic.
“Of course the unions are going to bang the drum if I don´t pay,” she says. “But they are also going to bang the drum if there are cutbacks in the workforce. I´d rather they banged the drum because of the cutbacks, but be able to pay the salaries of the workers every month.”
She does not hesitate to acknowledge that life for many municipal workers has become very hard. Most are surviving on handouts and credit, but many have run out of room to manoeuvre. In extreme cases the town council has had to step in to ensure families have access to essential services including water and electricity.
In that sense, Mrs Araujo says the workers must be praised for hanging in there.
“They have continued to work with absolute professionalism even though they knew that they might not get paid their full salaries at the end of the month,” she says.
Changing Things
In finding new sources of revenue for her city, Mrs Araujo highlighted the need to ensure that there was sufficient land to accommodate any company that wished to set up in La Linea. One of the key aims of a forthcoming review of La Linea´s urban development plan will be to earmark sites for commercial and industrial use.
“That will be one of the priorities,” she said. “We´re not talking of large businesses of the sort that set up in the major sites in Los Barrios or Algeciras, but rather very specific types of business.”
At present, though, this is a hope for the future. She concedes that the plan is not a response to interest from companies.
“We want to do it the other way round,” she said. “Have the land available first, then find the customers.”
Asked why a business would site itself in La Linea, she spoke of the city´s strategically-advantageous geographic location, with easy access to the A7 to Málaga, Gibraltar and to Algeciras.
“I think La Linea is naturally geared to the services industry and I believe that this is where we will find the interest.”
She also highlighted the new marina facilities and planned commercial developments in that area.
Gemma Araujo - The B2B Interview – continued
For many years,
La Linea has lived
beyond its means
9
News Features
“We need to develop and promote those and create the confidence needed for companies to come and set up here,” she says.
Tourism is another area that Mrs Araujo and her team are keen to develop. She wants visitors to stay in the town and not just see it as a place to drive through en route to somewhere else.
“We have a privileged location, with North Africa just 30 minutes away, with Gibraltar a step away, and at the gateway to both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic,” she says.
“And then there is the potential offered by the joint use of the airport.”
Mrs Araujo met with state airport officials last July, shortly after becoming mayor, to unblock the sale of land on which Spain will build its access to Gibraltar’s new air terminal.
The sale of the plot of municipal land had been stalled for nearly three years by the PP Mr Sánchez.
The PP mayor said he was simply trying to get the best price for La Linea’s cash-
strapped council, but others accused him of hampering the cross-border project for political ends.
Now, Mrs Araujo is leading the council initiative to untangle that impasse and renew discussions with Aena, the state airport authority that will oversee the project.
“We are concerned that the terminal in Gibraltar is almost complete and ready to be inaugurated in the coming months and we have yet to reach an agreement to release the land that AENA needs,” she says. “We’ve already had a first meeting to see how we could unblock this issue [and] we hope to renew the negotiations with AENA after the summer.”
“We’re going to sit down and try and close an agreement that will guarantee that the plot of land is available.
Gibraltar Cooperation
In all of these projects, Mrs Araujo sees the potential for Gibraltar companies to get involved. In the coming months, she hopes to strengthen her contacts with the Gibraltar Government and with the local business community to explore possible opportunities.
“Any initiative that aims to encourage mutual cooperation between the neighbouring communities is good,” she says.
“If on top of that we can generate employment or offer Gibraltar businesses assistance to set up here, or offer help finding employees, then that is always going to be positive.”
Mrs Araujo believes that many youngsters in La Linea are already well educated and trained but often struggle find jobs in their area of expertise and, as a result, have
to settle for something else or move away.
“But I also recognise that many of them have yet to get up to a good standard of English,” she adds.
“One of initiatives will be to help these youngsters to perfect their English to help
them find work in Gibraltar and remove that language handicap that can limit their employment opportunities.” She says the town council would look to see whether Gibraltar could play a role in this educational initiative.
She says that dialogue with Gibraltar had flourished under the PSOE government and the tripartite forum, whereas the PP has always opted for a “false patriotism” in order to hamper that cooperation. But she will not be drawn to reflect on the current political climate and the fact that the tripartite talks had all but collapsed as a result of the row over territorial waters.
“My job as mayor is to encourage goodwill and good relations between both communities,” she told B2B.
“Our common history requires this.” “But that does not mean that the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Madrid cannot have a determined position on Gibraltar in matters that are not within my remit.”
Despite her good intentions, Mrs Araujo concedes that there is potential for storm clouds on the horizon. Spain will hold its next general election on November 20 and the polls show that there is strong likelihood of the PP taking over in Madrid. National elections will be followed by regional ones in Andalucia – as this edition went to press, a date had yet to be fixed – and there are signs that the PSOE may for the first time lose its hold on the regional government too.
The PP has already promised a tougher line on Gibraltar if it wins in November. While it insists it is committed to local cooperation with Gibraltar, it prefers a “two flags, three voices” formula that recognises Britain as the sole interlocutor on Gibraltar issues.
“If that situation arises, then it is going to require even more effort from us,” she says. “Our competencies are local and we are going to continue working in that sense whoever is in government.”
She adds that should the PP win the national elections and harden Spain´s position in respect of Gibraltar, then the Gibraltar Government will have to play a critical role to differentiate between national policies imposed by Madrid and local initiatives led by a PSOE town council in La Linea. “It´s going to require a greater effort,” she says.
Photograph courtesy of The Gibraltar Chronicle
My job as mayor
is to encourage
goodwill and good
relations between
both communities
11
News Features
Changes in Civil Service Pensions
New entrants to the Civil Service will no longer retire
on final salary pensions under new arrangements introduced by the Gibraltar Government at the last budget. The measures, which begin next year, are aimed at tackling a rising pensions bill that represented a significant burden on the public purse.
The Civil Service final salary pension scheme is entirely unfunded and is paid out of the Government’s annual expenditure budget.
As salaries increased over the years, so did the cost of meeting those payments.
In 1983, the cost of meeting the pension payments of retired civil servants was £3.8m. By 2011, that had risen to £26.6m.
Under the present system, Gibraltar employs civil servants, pays their wages and enjoys the services they provide, but it is future generations who must pay the pension of those civil servants.
“Because it is unfunded, what it basically means is that we are leaving the pensions liability for current civil servants to our children and grandchildren, who will be the taxpayers in 33 years time when a civil servant recruited today retires,” said Chief Minister Peter Caruana during his last budget address just before the summer break.
“Just as we, today’s taxpayers are now paying the pensions of past civil servants who have retired and will pay the pensions of current civil servants when they retire.”
In times of economic prosperity, such an arrangement works well and payments are met. But the risk is that a downturn in the local economy could saddle future generations with an unsustainable burden.
It is that risk that the Government sought to address by putting Civil Service pensions on a contributory footing.
“If at some future time the economy were to do less well, this could become unaffordable and thus a serious problem for our children and grandchildren and for future generations in Gibraltar,” Mr Caruana said.
“We should eliminate that risk to them as soon as possible. This can be done by establishing a new occupational pension system for future civil servants in which the Government and the employee both put aside each year a proportion of each employee’s salary into a pension fund for that employee.”
When that employee retires, the accumulated content - annual contributions plus investment income over the whole career - of that employee’s pension fund will pay for his her occupational pension, which
will thus no longer be linked to final salary and will not be a financial burden on taxpayers at the time that he/she retires.”
Under the Defined Contribution Provident Scheme, the cost of public sector pensions will be spread over 33 years of a civil servants working life and paid annually by the taxpayers who employed and obtained the benefit of that civil servant.
Unlike in the UK, this change in the civil service occupational pension system will not affect existing employees, who will continue to enjoy their present pension arrangements.
In effect, it means the change will increase existing costs for the Government, which will have to meet current final salary pension
payments while funding annual contributions for those in the new scheme.
“So this is not about saving money now,” Mr Caruana said. “It costs more money now.There is nothing in this for the Government today except extra cost.”
“This is about taking seriously our responsibility to our children and grandchildren and to future generations by relieving them of need to pay later for the cost of things that we do, enjoy and decide today.”
Over 1017 public sector workers - around 25% of the public sector workforce - are already employed on the basis of this new pension scheme, most of them in statutory agencies outside the main Civil Service structure.
It already applies to new entrants in public authorities and agencies and, as from January 1, 2012, will apply to all new entrants in the Civil Service.
The Government is currently preparing the legislative changes needed to put the new scheme into place.
It also envisages improving the terms of the Provident No.2 Pension Scheme by increasing employer contributions from their current 10%.
13
News Features
Gibraltar Airport Winter 2011Morning Rush Hour
Weekday mornings this winter in both arrivals and departures in
Gibraltar airport’s new terminal look set to be what could be diplomatically described as ‘challenging’.
The quirks of slot allocation to the airlines mean that three flights are scheduled to arrive within five minutes of each other on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This frenzy of activity will be but a blip as the ramps look set to remain empty for much of the remainder of the day during the year’s quiet season. The winter schedule comes into force on Sunday 30 October with the airport’s three established carriers continuing to provide service to various UK destinations.
Although British Airways (BA) has shifted its flights to Málaga to operate from London Gatwick, its daily service to Gibraltar continues to operate from London Heathrow’s Terminal Three. This winter however the airline has rescheduled the flight to operate later in the day and to offer better connections to passengers arriving from long haul services into London. The single daily flight will leave Heathrow at 10.05am with arrival into Gibraltar at 1.55pm. Departure will be one hour later with arrival
back in London at 4.55pm. Additionally, the airline will continue to operate larger 156 seat Airbus A320 aircraft on the route.
easyJet (EZY) launched three weekly flights to Liverpool at the end of March this year. The airline will continue the service at the same frequency this winter.
The only change to the operation is that the Saturday flight moves to a morning operation from The Rock. Inherited with its purchase of GB Airways, the low cost airline’s daily flight to London Gatwick will continue but the schedule has changed to an early morning departure from London. Six days a week the flight is due to land in Gibraltar at 11.05am and after the airline’s customary rapid turn round it leaves for London just 35 minutes later. Saturday flights arrive just under two hours later.
Earlier this year Monarch (ZB) announced a big increase in flights to Spain and Gibraltar citing increased demand as tourists shifted away from North Africa. This winter the airline will be reducing this extra capacity back during the off season. From a peak of 11 weekly flights to London Luton in July and August, the airline will cut this to just four with effect from 07 November 2011.
Although this will be increased to five in the run up to Christmas and New Year, only three weekly flights will operate with effect from 09 January 2012. The airline’s route to Manchester, which saw four weekly flights this summer, will be reduced to three weekly services with the start of the winter timetable.
Looking forward to the summer season, Monarch will offer a substantial increase in flights to both London Luton and Manchester.
The big news however sees the launch on 31 March of bmibaby’s (WW) three weekly flights to Nottingham East Midlands airport – a route set to open Gibraltar and the western Costa Del Sol to the English Midlands.
Brian T Richards, Air Travel Consultant - www.briantrichards.com
fl ight to operate
later in the day
and to offer
better connections.
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News Features
New Opportunities for the Yacht Register
The transfer of the Gibraltar Yacht Registry from Companies
House to the Gibraltar Maritime Adminstration has paved the way for the Rock to pitch for lucrative business from wealthy owners of luxury megayachts.
Joe Holliday, the Minister for Enterprise, Development, Technology and Transport, described the move as “an important milestone” for Gibraltar’s maritime sector.
Gibraltar’s Ship Registry has gone from strength to strength over recent years, consolidating it’s position as a quality flag that attracts owners of merchant ships from around the globe.
The Registry’s commercial fleet continued to grow in 2010, with a 4% increase in ship numbers. In 2010, there were 49 new registrations, bringing the total number of vessels on the Gibraltar Register to 320 ships totalling nearly 2.2 million gross tons.
But the Yacht Register has remained largely static in the same period. That now seems set to change.
A key element of the transfer is a legislative change that now will allow for yachts over 24 metres in length that comply with the internationally recognised Large Yacht Code to be registered in Gibraltar.
“This will open a new and exciting market for Gibraltar’s maritime services and to this end,
a surveyor has been recruited to carry out the surveys and inspection on these vessels,” Mr Holliday said.
“A promotional campaign is being worked on to attract these discerning owners to register their yachts in Gibraltar. This is an important sector with immense potential for the future.”
As at March 31, 2010, there were 736 yachts registered in Gibraltar.
Gibraltar, at the western gateway to the Mediterranean, has long been a favoured staging port for yachts moving between the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.
New maina projects built in recent years have included sizeable berths to accommodate large megayachts.
This will open a
new and exciting
market for Gibraltar’s
maritime services .
17
News Features
Social Media
While a walk down Main Street remains the medium of choice
for exchanging ideas in Gibraltar, a report published earlier this year laid bare the extent to which social media has taken root in this community and helped foster a parallel, online debate.
Nearly two thirds of the population of Gibraltar is registered on Facebook and a growing number of people are dabbling in Twitter and other platforms.
The figures released by the tracking website Socialbakers suggested some
17,540 people in Gibraltar hold a Facebook account. That amounted to nearly 61% of the community, the third-highest per capita concentration of Facebook users in Europe, according to Socialbakers.
Users in Gibraltar are spread across all age groups, with nearly half of them in their late teens to mid 30s, the data showed.
And when it comes to social media, there is no discrimination. In terms of gender, the spread is roughly even. Both men and women enjoy Facebook.
For many, Facebook is a means of staying in touch with family and friends who are not in Gibraltar.
But the popularity of discussion groups such as Gibraltar Politics and Speak Freely! demonstrates that social media also has a vibrant local dimension too.
Increasingly, mainstream media outlets such as The Chronicle, GBC and Panorama are also turning to Facebook and Twitter, both as a means of breaking news and as a source of information.
But is there a down side to all this? Perhaps.
Another recentsurvey, this time by Internet security company Webroot, found that 56% of the 4,000 people it questioned confessed to being addicted to social media.
According to Webroot, 46% of respondents visit their favorite social network several times a day or constantly, while 18% visited at least once a day.
The survey found that new technologies lay at the root of this phenomena, with 42% of those who visited their social sites several times a day or constantly accessing them from mobile devices.
The level of usage prompted questions about security issues and the protection of personal information, and one important piece of advice: Do not do or say anything online that you would not do or say in the real world.
And when it
comes to social
media, there is
no discrimination.
19
Chamber News
2011 Trading Conditions Survey
Highlights
• Half of this year’s respondents had seen their year on year sales either flat or reduced. This shows an improvement on last year when two thirds of respondents said that their sales had remained flat or been cut.
• Respondents said that 44% of their employees were frontier workers against 40% in last year’s survey.• 16% of respondents had made people redundant during the year. Collectively the number of people who had lost their jobs amounted to 11
people against 39 people in last year’s survey. Just 16% of respondents thought it likely that they would be making further redundancies during 2011, the same as last year although more optimistically 58 per cent of respondents had no plans for job losses during the year.
• Competition from the UK (in last year’s survey it was competition from Spain), high business costs and staff recruitment and retention were by far the three factors deemed to have the biggest impact on local businesses. These three have remained virtually unchanged for several years although a close fourth has been government red tape.
• Members returning completed questionnaires employed more than 1,069 people or around 5% of the private sector workforce in Gibraltar.• The survey generated a 27% response rate against a 32% response rate last year (70 completed questionnaires returned against 87 last year).
Employment levels
Members returning completed questionnaires employed more than 1,069 people or just over 11% of the private sector workforce in Gibraltar. Of this total, 473 (44%) were frontier workers.Nearly one quarter of respondents (23%) said that they had increased the number of employees in the previous 12 months, whilst just under a fi fth (19%) said that they had reduced their workforce during the same period. The majority reported no change to the number people employed over the period.
Business Performance
Around a half of those responding (49%) said that they had seen an increase in sales compared with the previous year. This is a better result than last year’s survey where only 30% of respondents reported a year on year increase. Just under one third of respondents (31%) said that they had seen a fall in sales. The remaining fifth (21%) said that their sales had been flat compared with the previous year.
Taken together these results are reason for some moderate optimism as broadly they show an improved trading environment compared with the result from the Chamber’s 2010 survey. We commented that last years survey results gave cause for concern as the trading environment seemed to be consistent with previous economic cycles. This year’s results give cause for some cheer as the worst seems to have passed. Nevertheless, it remains far from certain that the rate of economic growth seen in during the first decade of the new millennium will return. After all the growth levels of Gibraltar’s two principal trading partners, the UK and Spain, remain anaemic. Against this background, Gibraltar continues to do well.
Business Outlook
Despite this, two thirds of respondents remain optimistic about future business prospects for the rest of the year and for 2012 as well. This is consistent with responses in last year’s survey.
However, there remains a degree of concern about the prospects for this year as 27% of those responding expect the outlook to deteriorate in the year ahead. As with last year’s survey most of respondents predicting a worsening outlook are from the retail and wholesale sectors. This is to be expected as discretionary expenditure becomes tighter during a downturn. As with last year the principal sector which is most upbeat about the future outlook is the Finance sector which includes banking, insurance, funds, lawyers and accounting firms. The new lower corporation tax rate looks to be having initial positive effects in generating business for this sector. Long may this continue.
20
Chamber News
Some of the comments from the various sectors are as follows:
Retail sector “Slow, less disposable income and selling goods at less profi t”
“The recession in Spain and poor sentiment in UK depress sales and substantially squeeze margins”
“Trend is downward.”
“Very mixed bag of sales. No pattern whatsoever.”
“Both UK and Spanish economies weak, so tourists will be spending less.”“Local customers are less able to borrow, so they are also consuming less. This will not change in the near future.”
Wholesale sector “Costs up, food price infl ation high, increasing competition from non-Gib established Spanish companies”
“Business is very much dependent on visitors to Gibraltar. But these must spend on consumable to benefi t the economy. If they visit but do not spend, what good are they to us?”
Legal sector “The risk of increased infl ation and a shrinking private sector economy are a threat”
Insurance sector “Anticipate benefi ting from continued rise in GDP and expansion of fi nancial services”
“The recession is hitting Gibraltar”
Banking sector “I have noticed 2011 a lot quieter than 2010 on the number of clients I am seeing have to get business from UK and Switzerland by actively promoting Gibraltar.”
Property & Construction “First half of year has already shown a positive growth by comparison to 2009 to 2010”
“Our market is incoming HNWI’s and companies. We are growing our market share and the size of the market is growing. We have reasons therefore to be optimistic.”
Hotel & Catering sector “Slightly better although greater pressure on margins due to increased cost of goods and staff costs, and increased competition”
Transport sector “Diffi cult trading conditions locally. International markets still weak”
Port & Shipping sector “Sales gradually increase as confi dence returns amongst yacht visitors.” “Local boating market is restricted by laws, berth shortage and competition from Spain.”
“To maintain business to 2010 level as a minimum.”
Issues affecting business
As with previous Chamber surveys the three perennial factors deemed by members to have the greatest impact on their business in the year ahead were: increase in business costs (27%); competition from the UK and elsewhere (14%) and staff retention and recruitment. Other factors such as dealing with government departments, red tape and traffic congestion were seen to have an impact but not to the same extent as in previous years.
A new question in this year’s survey asked members whether they supported the government’s policy of getting tough with late payers of PAYE, Company Tax, Rates, Social Insurance and Municipal Charges. A resounding 76% of respondents supported this with just 10% of respondents not supporting this initiative. A cautious 14% were unsure whether to support this or not. (Maybe it depends on whether they have had a good month’s trading.) Perhaps what was most revealing were the comments which accompanied some of the answers. Here is a selection: “But treat ALL alike. It is despicable big companies are getting away with daylight robbery.”
“Absolutely. I question how ‘fairly’ they take this stance with ‘older’ family businesses.”
“We are always up to date with all our taxes and SI which makes us uncompetitive with companies who are not and when they close down we pay the penalty.”
“Big boys seem to have got away with not paying before the decision to get tough is made!”
“2011 Trading Conditions Survey” – continued
21
Chamber News
“Getting tough may mean shutting down some businesses. This has a negative impact on the economy. Everyone has to pay but the Government should try and introduce payment facilities to ease the burden and help cash fl ow.”
“Though it affects us, it also levels the playing fi eld.”
“On condition that there is a level playing fi eld and all are treated the same without exceptions, and that they are equal.”
“But surely they should be doing this anyway? It would certainly have prevented other businesses losing money with Haymills etc.”
“Such a policy has got to be seen to be fair, but when big business is allowed to get away with millions owing and simply wind-up and disappear and the small businessman is hounded for pennies, then this policy will never be seen to be equitable.”
“We are up to date on PAYE etc. If we get one month behind we are chased - this does not seem to be the case for some.”
“In principle, however everyone should be measured with the same stick.”
“Defi nitely. Government slackness on those in arrears is a disincentive to businesses who pay on time. Level the playing fi eld!”
“Feel the Government gets tougher on the smaller trader than it should in comparison to the treatment of bigger institutions.”
“Need to also pay back owed money quicker.”
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23
Chamber News
Will lower tax rate lead to increased investment?
This year the survey asked members about whether the introduction of the lower corporate tax rate would give them an incentive to invest more in their business. Responses were mixed: 28% said that it would give them an incentive, 34% said it would not and 38% were unsure if this was an incentive to invest more in their business or not. Thus far the impact on investment appears inconclusive. Again though some useful guidance was provided on the thinking behind some of the answers given. Here is a selection of the comments received:
“No real change to tax cost for company if it takes into account high personal tax rate.”
“Previously exempt - therefore we now have to pay tax.”
“It made us utterly paranoid of what may be deemed ‘benefi ts in kind’ and ‘allowable expenses’ and has put us off reinvesting in our business.”
“By encouraging more business to Gibraltar has increased sales opportunities.”
“It has made selling ‘Gibraltar PLC’ a lot easier. We have a compelling product.”
“The new rules are too radical and have created much uncertainty leading to expensive meetings with accountants who themselves are unsure how the new rules will be applied.”
“Lack of clear understanding. Government should resource guidance for small businesses.”
“Company too new to be able to comment.”
The new tax regime is still relatively new and as the Chamber commented in the 2010 Annual Report there were clear calls for clarification on parts of the new legislation. These comments reflect this and we understand that the Income Tax office is working through this with individual companies.
Banking sector woes
The survey asked what effect their banks’ lending criteria had had on their business. Just 3% of respondents said that this had had a positive effect on their business with 35% of respondents saying it had had a negative effect. An overwhelming 62% said it had had no effect on their business. Some of the respondents’ comments were enlightening:
“Limits development due to lack of fi nance.”
“Takes too long and too complicated to get any funds out of them.”
“Banks have remained supportive.”
“We applied for a loan in November 2010 - fully secured - we are still waiting to draw down 7 months later.”
“For the business itself we have no borrowings so no problem. For our clients, the banking situation is dire. We (interested parties in Gib) need to use all our contacts in the fi nance world and pool our intellectual resources to fi nd a solution. There is ample equity out there, we just need a structure and some government led impetus to create a lending institute out of it.”
“No lending, none responsive!”
“It was as bad in 2009.”
“Very slow decision making process. There is little or no decision making at local level.”
“Monthly ‘business’ bank account charges are too high. They do not take into account the type of client/business size and volume. They make charges on every single thing they do.”
Government’s Economic Management
With a forthcoming general election due the survey asked members for their opinion as to whether they thought the GSD government were doing a good job in running the economy. The current administration should draw sharp relief that 64% of respondents thought it was going a good job. Just 16% thought it was not doing a good job and 20% of respondents were unsure.
“2011 Trading Conditions Survey” – continued
24
Business Briefs
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25
Chamber News
Resourcing the Marketing of the Finance Centre
With the downturn elsewhere continuing to affect other economies and the significant changes to the Corporate Tax regime, the Chamber’s board wanted to get a feel from its members in the Financial Services sector if they thought that it was adequately resourced. Gibraltar Inc needs to bang its drum even louder now that other jurisdictions are even hungrier in attracting business. Gibraltar likewise needs to raise its game. Responses from members in the sector were pretty unanimous: 53% of those in the sector thought that the Finance Centre was not adequately resourced whilst 16% of those responding thought it was. 32% of respondents were unsure. Given what the Chief Minister said at Finance Centre dinners before the summer break (“we need ten more Jimmys”), this looks like being addressed in the near future.
Commercial rents
The survey asked members about the sustainability of commercial rents and whether they thought this was in the public interest. Given that a number of members are also landlords the answers to this question were not that clear-cut: 59% of respondents thought that it was not in the public interest; 23% of respondents thought that it was in the public interest and 18% were not sure if maintaining the current level of rents was in the public interest or not. To this end the survey asked if members would support an independent study of the current situation of Gibraltar’s commercial property market. Perhaps unsurprisingly the responses mirrored the answers to the previous question: 66% said that they would support an independent assessment, 17% would not support such a study and 17% were unsure whether they would support a study or not. Again some useful insights were provided in the accompanying comments as summarised below:
“Loads of empty retail shops on Main St.”
“Rents are unsustainable and in the future will have a negative impact as some will need to close.”
“The Landlord and Tenants Act does not work as it has led to the increases far in excess of increases in turnover. The issues of: A) Market Rents B) Arbitrations C) Upward only rents all need to be looked at.”
“Market will decide.”
“Yes as long as it was me! Can’t see the point really, focus needs to be on unlocking funding. There is enough space, enough developers, and enough schemes to build. Funding alone is the issue. Thereafter the market will resolve itself..”
“Landlords increase rents until operators fail. Then they are replaced by business with high margins.”
“We need more transparency.”
“Market will fi nd its own level. A study would be a waste of money. How would any results be enforced? Legislation - you must be kidding!”
“Market forces dictate.”
“Rates on commercial property excessive. There should be concession on rates payable on empty premises for minimum of up to 2 years.”
“Commercial rents - let the market determine the rents. Look what happens when the Government gets involved in rents, we have far too many residential properties around town which have controlled rents. Landlords don’t invest in those properties as a result. Leaves a mess. The market is usually right.”
Burning issues
There was no shortage of opinions and views on what members wanted the board to take up on their behalf during the year. Here is a summary of the main ones:
“Ask opposition what they stand for in Main St.”
“Good Chief Minister but I am annoyed about over spending and high debt level. Good income in economy, but pathetic over spending. Sadly no alternative.”
“Abolition of import duty.”
“Concern is future legacy costs of these expenditures. Is Government not aware of dangers of excess expenditure? Need to consider the lessons to be learnt from what is happening around us.”
“2011 Trading Conditions Survey” – continued
26
Chamber News
“Q17 Comment: Government spending too money on both capital (loans) and recurrent - big legacy costs for future.”
“Marketing the ‘tourist’ product.”
“Red tape (FSC data protection) etc. When traders allowed to carry out licensed activities without license and with impunity.
“Transparency in local sourcing of building materials.”
“More equitable distribution of tourists between the northern and southern end of Main St. Tourists could be dropped off in lay by behind museum and directed to Main St. They then have to walk the length of Main St. Hopefully they shop. Right now dropping them off at ‘Plaza del Reloj’ does not help anyone. Tour operators need to be engaged.”
“Commercial border to open on Saturday.”
“Lack of banking fi nance for expansion and development.”
“Traffi c congestion generally.”
“High cost of public sector pay and pensions.”
“Government recurring expenditure insofar as it may or may not be sustainable.”
“Worldwide increases in regulatory burden and costs.”
“Payment facilities for internet trading.”
“A long term tourism strategy.”
“Monopolies and tenders.”
“Government capital expenditure.”
“Bring Gibraltar’s laws and all legislation up to date with the UK & Europe.”
“Unfair competitive environment re PAYE arrears / unregistered employees.”
“Spanish business not established locally to sell to local retailers.”
“Income Tax Act 2010 requirements re business expenses not allowable as a deduction.”
“Our infrastructure service sector is well below par. It is of huge embarrassment when we welcome HNWI’s and we cannot get their electricity or water switched on for 2 weeks because there is a queue. Or we cannot
“2011 Trading Conditions Survey” – continued
27
Chamber News
connect a new customer without appearing at the offi ce personally. We have a third world system. No complaint about the staff. The system it third world.”
“Tender process, especially JBS monopoly.”
“Employ more Health & Safety Inspectors - insuffi cient number to cover Gibraltar’s businesses.”
“Foreign construction companies need to source more locally.”
“International expansion.”
“Overtime rates charged by Customs after 14.30 hrs for commercial entrance of goods.”
“Hopefully the power failures will be addressed by the temp generators and the proposed new generating station.”
“Shutting of Government offi ces at 2 pm for 25% of the year needs addressing if we want to be the international fi nance centre of Europe. No need to erode workers’ rights. Just employ more staff or start a fl exi-time system. We compete on the international stage. We need a government service structure to support that competition.”
Finally, the Chamber asked its members if it thought that the board overall were doing a good job. 68% of respondents said “Yes”, 5% said “No” and perhaps most worrying 28% were “Not sure.”
If you have any questions about the survey or the results please contact the Chamber on 200 78376 or email on [email protected]
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29
Business Briefs
MHBland - New Websites
MH Bland is pleased to announce that new MH Bland Group of Companies website, www.mhbland.com is now up and “live.”
Mandy Gaggero, Marketing Manager for the Group, said that “Of particular interest to the community will be the archive section which offers visitors to the site a wide selection of photographs and other material spanning the 200 years of the company’s and therefore Gibraltar’s history.
We have worked on giving the site a fresh look after celebrating our 200th Anniversary and taken the time to include a complete copy of the commemorative booklet which was commissioned in 2010. I hope that all visitors will enjoy the new look and I would welcome any feedback.”
MH Bland also recently re built and re launched their MH Bland Travel Services website,
www.mhbtravelservices.com which offers clients details on special offers on both holidays and cruises.
MH Bland Travel Services also has a Facebook page as do Dolphin World which posts all the latest marine activity in the Bay of Gibraltar.
The Early Bird Catches the Worm
Want a pension at 65 of £10,000 a year in today’s money? Start
saving at age 25 and it will cost you £270 a month. Start saving at age 45 and it will cost you £630 a month, well over twice as much. We’ve all seen these sorts of figures before. The moral is start saving early and let compound interest do its work.
Actuaries reckon that in future it will be common for homo sapiens to live to age 100 (and maybe without, as Woody Allen said, having to give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred). Governments have now begun to put up state pension ages, but not by as much as increases in life expectancy, so peoples’ retirements are getting longer and longer. The need to save, save enough, and save effectively is more important than ever.
Companies don’t have to offer a pension scheme, but most do. The view that the employees are not interested in or don’t understand pensions is no more or less true than any generalisation. Certainly pensions
do seem to be bringing people out onto the streets these days. A recent survey of public sector workers in the UK indicated that a significant number would rather have a pay cut than reductions in their pensions.
Employers therefore play a valuable role in providing a good pension scheme. Understandably most now prefer the defined contribution model where their pension costs are a fixed and known percentage of their salary bill.
However, for many people a defined contribution pension is an act of faith. The employer and employee each typically pay something like 5% of
salary into a scheme and basically hope for the best. Pension benefits from a defined contribution scheme don’t have to be a matter of luck. Just like final salary pension schemes defined contribution schemes
need to be regularly reviewed and made to work, so that when an employee reaches retirement there are no surprises or disappointments about the level of pension benefits.
This still doesn’t do away with the need to start saving early, but it certainly helps in a world in which it seems many more of us will become centenarians.
The moral is start saving early and let compound interest do its work
31
Business Briefs
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IBEX come to Irish Town
Ibex Insurance Services Ltd celebrated the official
inauguration of their new offices, 68 Irish Town.
On the 8th of June, Ibex Insurance hosted the official opening of their new offices, 68 Irish Town. The event, which took place between Sacarello’s and the new office, saw the ribbon being cut by the Chief Minister Peter Caruana, who officially announced that the office was open and congratulated John Harrison, Chairman of Ibex Group, on the success of Ibex and its growth over the last 10 years.
Mr Harrison then took the opportunity to thank the loyal Ibex staff who had been instrumental in the Company’s success and to show the Chief Minister around the offices which are located over four floors and house over 40 members of staff. More than another 40 staff are located in 14 Ibex Insurance branches in Spain and Portugal. The new offices have now centralised the underwriting, claims and administration functions of the Company with the retail office giving Ibex Insurance a ground floor presence in the centre of town in smart new surroundings.
The event was attended by many local business people, and a number who had travelled from Spain and the UK for the special occasion. The guests enjoyed the ‘street party’ atmosphere on a warm summer evening, with canapés by Vickie Bishop Catering and jazz music by UK musician Tom Rust.
For more information about Ibex Insurance and its range of
Insurance products including the newly launched Business
Insurance please call 200 44628. www.ibexinsure.com
32
Business Briefs
The Ripple Effect
Pure FocusEnabling growth in business and societyDeloitte provides a full range of services which include auditing, tax and fi nancial advisory services. As a member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu our services are guided by global common principles that infl uence the way we perform our daily work and ensure all our services are consistently of the highest quality.
Our service philosophy centers around strong partner involvement and understanding of your business needs. We listen to you and work with you. We understand the environment you operate in. We communicate regularly and provide information in a form you can use to make effective business decisions.
For more information, call Joseph L Caruana or Stephen J Reyes on: Tel: +350 200 41200, Fax: +350 200 [email protected]
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© 2011 Deloitte Limited. A member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited.
www.deloitte.gi
Since the 10% corporation tax rate became effective, most
attention has been on the quality and quantity of companies being attracted to Gibraltar to take advantage of our attractive fiscal regime. However, what stood out for us at Chesterton, in August, was acting for two entirely different companies taking office premises here in Gibraltar, both of which will add to local employment and the local economy, yet were not directly a result of the low tax regime.
Firstly, Hideaways Experienced Investor Fund. This overseas lifestyle property investment fund, now the largest fund in Gibraltar measured by the number of investors, moved to significantly larger premises within Gibraltar to enable it to increase the number of operational staff it employs locally. Further growth is forecast as the fund grows.
What this demonstrates is that the increasing funds sector will boost more
than just balance sheets as many such funds have a requirement for an operational side to their businesses, some of which will be in Gibraltar. It is pleasing to identify the fact that the funds industry has a positive ripple effect beyond just the finance centre in Gibraltar.
Secondly, and perhaps what will impact our economy more, is the establishment of Computacenter in Gibraltar.
Computacenter is Europe’s leading independent provider of IT infrastructure services. It has over 10,000 employees across Europe and £2.7bn annual turnover. It is a significant addition to the corporate sector locally.
According to Marc Fryer, Computacenter’s Client Director for the Corporate & eGaming Sector, and with whom we worked closely during the process of establishing them here, “Gibraltar continues to attract the best in class gaming companies across the world. We
have invested in Gibraltar to offer the support these companies need and deserve. Computacenter is a respected and pan European IT Infrastructure Services and Solutions provider with a history of dealing with some of the largest public and private organisations globally.”
Its prime motive for establishing in Gibraltar is not, therefore, tax driven. It is quite simply the ripple effect of Gibraltar’s gaming sector that has convinced such a large corporation to establish here.
And it bodes well for high end employment too. “We will have personnel on the Rock that can assist in providing Supply Chain Services, Professional Services and Managed Services, focussed on IT Infrastructure” Fryer told B2B.
The ripple effect goes further, because when a large organisation like Computacenter establish in Gibraltar, other related parties from overseas watch and learn. “We are also educating tier 1
33
Business Briefs
technology vendors on the importance of supporting Gibraltar and these vendors include EMC, Cisco, HP, VMWare, Oracle and Microsoft.”
All in all, it was a good August.
Mike Nicholls is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a member of the Gibraltar Society of Accountants
Mike operates Chesterton estate agency (www.chesterton.gi) and owns MN Associates Limited, a local company specialising in Gibraltar property, funding and relocation.
See www.mn-associates.gi.
Marc Fryer Client Director, Computacenter
Gibraltar continues
to attract the best
in class gaming
companies across
the world.
34
Business Briefs
It’s a Khaima Magic...
The word Khaima is the Arabic word for tent but at the Rock
Hotel it has become a byword for Gibraltar’s latest and most unique venue.
The pool area...The hotel’s recently refurbished pool area has a distinctive Moorish look with definite shades of Marrakech! The addition of the Khaima, or marquee, sitting within this new environment gives the hotel a stunning venue that can be used winter or summer for a whole series of social and business purposes – at night in particular, the Khaima and surrounding pool area is magically lit with mood lighting and wonderful Moroccan lanterns and is adorned with red carpets hand made by Berber craftsmen just for your delegates and guests.
Spacious and versatile...The Khaima is spacious and versatile and is air conditioned for the summer as well as having the option of heating in the winter. A number of local companies have already held successful events within its walls and the diary is looking very promising as we end the summer and start to think about the conference and festive seasons – both of which can be catered for particularly well.
Conference, dinner, Christmas, Halloween... There is a range of Khaima menus from canapés to formal banqueting, from Moroccan inspired menus to two or three course menus for hungry conference delegates. Fresh off the press is a range of Christmas party menus with live music and DJ options that are guaranteed to get your company or organisation’s celebrations rocking and with Halloween on its way why not be the first to book a spooky company disco.
Independent hire...The Khaima can also be hired as an independent venue if so desired and third party event companies are welcome to talk to the hotel about ways in which they can work together to use this amazing location. With a dedicated kitchen area to rent we welcome visiting chefs, event organisers, party planners and caterers to the Khaima.
Transport solutions...For a venue that can sit up 200 people and can provide a cocktail or conference environment for many more, the hotel also has a logistical solution and in conjunction with its sister company BGI Travel, can offer
35
Business Briefs
the ideal transportation from your company headquarters or from a variety of bespoke pick up points in and around Gibraltar.
Or take the elevator home...Subject to availability the Rock would be delighted to offer a very special overnight rate to any bona-fide attendees of a Khaima event of £70.00 per room including a full English buffet breakfast .
Find out more... The Khaima has a dedicated manager, Alex Martin and he
can be contacted at [email protected]
Likewise, the Khaima has its own dedicated enquiry centre
and an e-mail to [email protected] will get you an
information pack that will tell you all you need to know to
get you Khaima wise!
They say a picture paints a thousand words but even better
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36
Business Briefs
Gibtelecom Invests in World’s Longest Fibre Optic Cable
Investing in innovation and new technologies has been a key
strategy for Gibtelecom, and this year we have seen one of the Company’s major transformational projects coming to fruition – the Europe India Gateway (EIG) submarine cable project, perhaps the most ambitious and potentially important commercial project with which Gibtelecom have ever been involved.
Gibraltar’s demand for internet bandwidth has grown on an exponential scale in recent times, largely driven by the e-gaming industry. This sector, and Gibraltar’s finance centre too, have a high dependency on state-of-the-art communications and Gibtelecom has been committed to investing in providing robust and diverse national and international fibre optic routes.
The EIG high bandwidth fibre optic system will not only complement existing routes but also provide Gibraltar with an alternative
submarine path, without the limitations on capacity or the incidence of interruptions that face land based routes.
The cable which has a current capacity of 3.84 terabits along the entire route, connects three continents and provides seamless interconnection with other major cable systems connecting Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. The submarine cable was landed successfully in Gibraltar in May last year and partial activation was recently achieved.
This project is an important step forward in building both Gibtelecom, and Gibraltar, as an international communications hub. Tim Bristow, Gibtelecom’s CEO say’s the Company is “setting up an international arm that will not only market Gibtelecom worldwide, in terms of bandwidth and transit traffic sales, but also manage the Company’s other international traffic, routes and relationships.” This is the first time in nearly
100 years that Gibraltar has had a direct commercial submarine cable. He adds that “and we can now marry it to data centres where people are looking for tax-efficient places to host their computers.”
Connectivity, he believes, is “a sort of new oil.”.
Tim Bristow, CEO Gibtelecom
37
People on the Move
Barclays Wealth Boosts Intermediaries Team
Barclays Wealth has been looking after clients on
‘The Rock’ for over 120 years, and thanks to the newly expanded intermediaries team who have a ‘passion to deliver,’ the global organisation continues to serve professional intermediaries and their clients.
‘Give us the problem or circumstance and let us find you the solution’: these are the inspiring words of Carlos Garcia, Head of Intermediaries, who leads the newly-formed team, comprising of relationship managers and account managers, all of whom have a wealth of experience and in-depth knowledge on a host of subjects, from property financing to high value international trading.
In order to serve clients’ needs, the department is assisted by a remote team which supports it with basic day-to-day activities, from service payments to day to day treasury needs.
The wide range of expertise within the group ensures that their chosen client
segment is served in the best and most efficient way, providing global reach.
Determined to continue driving the service agenda for constant improvement forward, the team is working with in-house experts to ensure that the systems and processes are reviewed to make sure they meet the needs of their clients in this fast changing environment.
So, apart from their passion, drive and determination, what makes this team of experts stand out from the competition?
Carlos says: ‘Whilst others are focused on their internal issues at a time when banks remain in the spotlight, we are solely focused on the external stakeholder, the client.
‘We continue to be committed to our clients and want to leverage the full
Barclays Wealth capability, dovetailing with the Corporate banking suite of products and expertise, Barclays in Gibraltar is the gateway to the Barclays group.’
‘This is unique, as we find that our competitors can only do one of the two; either corporate banking or investment banking. We can do all of this from within the same team.’
Barclays Wealth is the wealth management division of Barclays and operates through Barclays Bank PLC and its subsidiaries.
Barclays Bank PLC. Registered in England. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Registered Number: 1026167. Registered Office: 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP.
Authorised by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission to conduct banking and investment business in Gibraltar.
Give us the
problem or
circumstance
and let us fi nd
you the solution
38
People on the Move
Serruya Retires, Pisharello Steps Up as Chairman at Baker Tilly
Charles Serruya, Chairman of Baker Tilly Gibraltar, has retired after 30 years with the firm.
Jose Julio Pisharello takes over as Chairman with Ian Collinson continuing as Managing Director. Congratulations to JJ as he is known, and we wish Charles a very happy retirement.
Stan Cech has recently joined Ibex
Insurance Services Limited in the position of Finance Manager, working at the new company headquarters at 68 Irish Town.
Stan has been in Gibraltar since 2006, working previously at Hassans Law Firm as a Legal Accountant. The two years that Stan spent with Hastings Insurance Services Ltd in the UK will no doubt also hold Stan in good stead in his new role. ‘I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to join Ibex, which I have already seen in my short time is a dynamic and growing business. I am looking forward to the challenges ahead.’ he told B2B
Stan who hails from the Czech Republic, moved to London in 2001 to study English and Accountancy where he remained for five years before making Gibraltar his home with his wife and two daughters.
IBEX New Staff Member
The Gibraltar office of Spring Law was set up on 24 January 2011 by
Chris Keightley-Pugh. Spring Law Gibraltar is an associate office of the Spring Law Group which has its head office in London. The London office has three partners and employs a further 14 solicitors all with specialists skills having been recruited from top London law firms.
We are a full-service law firm, with the following practice area expertise:
Spring Law is dedicated to the support of business and business leaders. Distinguished by our result and value driven philosophy and the commitment of our lawyers, we maintain the very highest standards whilst providing a distinctly personalised service to our clients, presenting a real alternative to the supersized law firms.
Our managing partner, Chris Keightley-Pugh began his legal career at Fox & Gibbons in London. In 1995, after qualifying as a solicitor, Chris moved to the Gibraltar office of Fox & Gibbons and was admitted as a Gibraltar solicitor in 1996.
Since then Chris has dealt with commercial
and private client work dealing with both contentious and non contentious matters. When Chris decided to leave the firm at the end of 2002 he was leaving part of the Denton Wilde Sapte group, which had taken over Fox & Gibbons in the late nineties following an earlier merger between Denton Hall and Wilde Sapte. Denton Wilde Sapte has since closed its Gibraltar office.
More recently Chris set up a company specialising in private client work dealing with wills, international estate planning and succession. He also held in house legal positions at Gibraltar Companies House and ECS International Limited (a licensed professional trustee and company manager) where he advised on company and trust law, and also dealt with regulatory and compliance matters.
Chris has now opened a Spring Law office in Gibraltar. He will combine his experiences working in private practice, private industry and his role at Companies House to provide clear, concise and pragmatic advice to commercial and private clients on a wide range of legal and commercial issues, and will be working closely with his colleagues in the London office to provide Gibraltar office
clients with a full range of legal services covering all the main practice areas.
We advise companies with existing business interests in Gibraltar or looking to restructure their business interests to take advantage of the attractive 10% corporate tax regime which has now been introduced by the Gibraltar government.
We can also deal with corporate law, real estate, employment and litigation matters. If the business activities involved require a licence from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission we can help you deal with the application process, and provide advice on all the regulatory hurdles. We also handle private client matters advising company directors, employees and private individuals with all their legal requirements and local registrations.
Spring Law Gibraltar prides itself on the core duties that are expected from every firm of solicitors including integrity, independence and very high levels of service. We understand and respect our client’s confidentiality which is a fundamental obligation owed by a solicitor to his client under the terms of the solicitor’s retainer .
New Gibraltar Law Firm
Left: Ian Collinson, Managing Director, Centre: Charles Serruya, retiring Chairman, Right: Jose Julio Pisharello, Chairman of the Board of Directors
39
People on the Move
Hassans International Law Firm is delighted to announce that senior
associates’ Richard Buttigieg, Abigail Harrison and Raquel Moss have accepted invitations to join the firm’s partnership with effect from the 1st July 2011.
Managing Partner, Javier Chincotta stated, “The addition of these three dynamic associates to the Partnership brings our total number of partners to thirty. The quality and depth of experience that each one brings to the table is significant in driving forward the future of the firm“.
Richard, an LLB Honours graduate in Law and Spanish Studies from Kingston University in the United Kingdom completed the Bar Vocational Course at the Inns of Court School of Law in London and, as a member of the Middle Temple, was called to the Bar of England & Wales and Gibraltar in 2003. He was also called to the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and is therefore able to advise corporate service providers in all matters concerning the laws of the British Virgin Islands.
Richard started his career with Hassans in 1999 through the ‘Hassans’ Summer Student Program’ which he now oversees with another of the partners. He is a trustee of the Gibraltar charity ‘FACES’ and is an active member of other local charities.
Abigail, an LLB Honours graduate in Law from the University of Hertfordshire, completed the Bar Vocational Course at the Inns of Court School of Law, London in 2003. As a member of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, she was called to the Bar of England & Wales and the Gibraltar in 2003. Abigail joined Hassans in 2003 and has been working with Senior Partner, James Levy QC for over 7 years, specialising in finance and commercial transactions and she also has extensive experience on private client and merger and acquisition transactions.
Raquel is a graduate of the University of Kent, who also studied at the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland and then spent five years working in Company Management in Gibraltar. She later completed a post-graduate Diploma in Law at City University, London and studied for the Bar exams at the Inns of Court School of Law, also in London and then called to the Bars of England and Wales and Gibraltar. Raquel
has been the Managing Director of Line Trust Corporation Limited since 2003 and will continue in this role.
Raquel holds the Diploma in International Trust Management from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (“STEP”), and has been serving as Secretary to the Gibraltar branch of STEP for a number of years. In this capacity, she represents STEP at the Gibraltar Finance Centre Council, and also sits on the Legislation Committee of the branch, advising on proposed updates to local legislation.
She has contributed to the journal “Trust and Trustees” and other books and publications on Gibraltar trust law
published by the Oxford University Press and Sweet & Maxwell.
She is a keen advocate of the professionalization of the local trust industry.
James Levy QC, Senior Partner said: “I am delighted that Richard, Abigail and Raquel have joined
the partnership and I am sure they will continue to prove to be tremendous assets to the firm.
The promotion to partnership from our internal ranks shows the quality of lawyers and staff that we attract and demonstrates the commitment and expertise both from a product and geographic perspective allowing us to offer the best quality of service to all our clients, locally and worldwide.”
New Partners Announced at Hassans
From left to right:Richard Buttigieg, Abigail Harrison, Raquel Moss
The quality
and depth of
experience that
each one brings
to the table is
signifi cant in
driving forward the
future of the fi rm
Trusted since 1892We offer the stability and security of advice that only the longest established
law firm in Gibraltar can do. So whatever you’re planning,wherever you’re headed, we’re right behind you.
For all your legal requirements, contact:
[email protected] House, Glacis Road, PO Box 204, Gibraltar
Tel: +350 2000 1892 Fax: +350 200 78990 www.gibraltarlawyers.com
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