JDC scoops close to £1M by selling part of Weighbridge Square

Friday 12 January 2018

The Jersey Development Company could be pocketing a big cheque at the end of the month if no one objects to their proposal to sell the part of Weighbridge Square currently used by the Royal Yacht Hotel for their alfresco dining area for £975,000.

The JDC could also receive a further £415,000 if plans to sell 10 parking spaces at Castle Quay are also approved, bringing their takings from the two sales up to £1.4million.

While the JDC owns the entirety of Weighbridge Square, which has been on a 150-year leasehold from the Public of Jersey since 15 February 2008, they have decided to part with the area currently used by the Royal Yacht Hotel for their alfresco zone. While the area sits on the Weighbridge, it wasn't open to the public, unless as customers of the hotel, as it was used in a private capacity by the Royal Yacht. 

The head lease has therefore been amended and the alfresco area removed from it so it could will be assigned to the purchaser. A new head lease has also been put in place between the public and the JDC for the remaining land at Weighbridge Square. 

The Royal Yacht Hotel declined to purchase the site, for which current rental value sits at £54,593 and preferred to extend their lease from 16 years to 41 years. This was accepted as it gave greater value to the land, for which two bids were received - one at £900,000 and one at £975,000. The latter offer was the one the JDC presented to the Assistant Minister for approval. JDC have declined to reveal the potential purchaser at this stage.

Pictured: The JDC's predecessors signed an agreement to buy 10 car spaces from Dandara when they built Castle Quay. 

In a separate transaction, the JDC also decided to get rid of 10 parking spaces at Castle Quay, which were bought by their predecessor as part of an agreement with Dandara, who built the development. Those spaces are currently rented to Ports of Jersey to be used by marine traders attending Elizabeth Marina. They will be sold for a total of £415,000.

In both transactions, it was the rent roll that created the capital value of the sites, Lee Henry, JDC's managing director, told Express. "The capital value derived from the last that were on place and which purchasers saw as an investment."

Lee Henry explained that the sales were motivated the JDC's remit. "Our primary focus is to develop real estate as opposed to retaining buildings. If we have in our possession buildings which are not strategic either for the company or the States of Jersey we simply dispose of them. We secured very good prices for those properties and the sale was supported by the shareholder. 

"We carry out a number of projects and working capital is needed in all projects. Commitment is needed upfront for the schemes we work on and they are funded out of our working capital. The money we will receive from the transactions once they are approved will be recycled back and invested into projects. Once those projects are completed and sold, the pot will be replenished and recycled into other projects. It's a constant flow."

Pictured: The JDC owns the entirety of Weighbridge Square, on a 150-year leasehold from the Public of Jersey which took effect on 15 February 2008.

Both transactions were approved earlier this year by St Peter's Constable, John Refault, who is the Assistant Minister for Treasury and Resources. If there is no objection in the next week - a 15-day "grace period" is required after the decision is signed in the interest of transparency and scrutiny - they should go through Royal Court at the end of the month and the sales made official. The identity of the purchasers will not be revealed until then.

Both the lease agreement with the Royal Yacht and Ports of Jersey will not be affected by the sale, as the lease agreements cannot be revoked. James Taylor, chairman of the MiJa Group which owns the Royal Yacht, assured: "The Royal Yacht has a very long lease for the Al Fresco area and this will not be affected by a change of ownership of the land."