Relocating to Guernsey with Jo Stoddart

Episode Transcript:

Rosie Allsopp: Hello and welcome to the Guernsey Finance podcast, where we bring you interviews with leaders from the global finance industry, as well as news and developments from Guernsey's financial services sector. 
For those of you who aren't familiar. Guernsey is a leading international finance centre, and the success of our industry here is underpinned by economic substance, political stability and asset security, and we are committed to the cause of sustainable finance. My name is Rosie, I'm Communications Director here at Guernsey Finance, and today's podcast is a little different. As the host of the Sustainable Finance Guernsey podcast, I usually speak with people who are doing really interesting things in the realm of sustainable finance, but today, I am absolutely thrilled to welcome Jo Stoddart, who is director of Locate Guernsey. So, Locate is the agency - that is the main point of contact within the Islands government estates of Guernsey and it is Locate’s mission to co-ordinate and assist with all business and personal relocation inquiries. Today we're going to be talking about the Relocate to Guernsey show. So to tell you a little bit about Jo, she's the Director of Locate, and she was appointed to the role in 2018 and along with founding the Channel Islands first independent relocation consultancy, Jo has a wealth of knowledge about the relocation process. 
Jo Stoddart: I'm from the UK, originally from Yorkshire, but I left the Yorkshire shortly after finishing my education, and I went to live and work in Paris, originally for a year, but I ended up staying 17 years. I returned to the UK to London, with a husband and child in tow, although we only stayed there for 20 months, an opportunity arose in Jersey, so we moved in 2001 and lived there for four years, moving to Guernsey, where I've lived for the past 19 years. So in terms of relocation, although it hasn't been very far flung, I have a lot of personal experience of relocating, which I think is helpful for clients, because I really do understand some of the challenges they face, both personally and professionally and as a family, absolutely.
Locate is a Guernsey government agency. It's funded by the committee for economic development, but our remit is to promote Guernsey as a destination of choice for individuals and businesses who are considering relocation and then help all of these people through the process. Relocating anywhere is a big decision, and we see it as part of our role to ensure that clients can make an informed decision about whether or not Guernsey would be the right jurisdiction for them to move to, whether they're moving for personal reasons, or to take up employment on the island, or to establish a business. So we provide a lot of information, introductions and generally try and help paint a picture in people's minds about what living here is like, because people don't often know what they need to know. So it's part of our job to make sure they fully understand what life in Guernsey might look like for them, for their business, for their family, and then to help them to achieve that. 
RA: You've lived and worked in Guernsey for a long time now, and you and I have both lived here a long time, and we both understand how unique really island life is. Can you expand on that a little bit and tell our listeners what it is like living in Guernsey?
JS: Having lived for many years in big cities, I was a bit apprehensive about coming to a small island, but I can see for myself now the benefits of living in a relatively small place, and above all, being able to re-establish a proper work-life balance. We have so much better-quality family time. I think the average commute is about 20 minutes, and that's either on foot or by bicycle or in your own car, and it makes such a huge difference as to how you can enjoy your life - I think this is one of the big differences, actually, for a lot of people who've lived in or near a big city and had to commute, because generally, life is much more relaxed here.
Although people work hard, they really make the most of living by the sea. And I think fresh air and lack of pollution is another huge factor which former city dwellers notice. But the other big thing that we all really enjoy is the safety of the island, because it's such a safe and secure place. And I think as a result of this, people are generally less stressed. Silly things, but drivers will give way at junctions, they'll stop to let you out onto a busy road, and they'll stop at separate crossings to let you cross the road and actually, practically everyone I've ever helped has commented on how lovely it is to feel safe here. We're really fortunate because we have a low crime rate, and as a community, people generally look out for each other. It's a really special place to live. But I also hear a lot from relocators, especially the professional services community, how interesting the work is there's an awful lot of amazing stuff going on in Guernsey, and people are able to enjoy the challenges of a city style job, whilst being able to combine that with a good work life balance. And generally, there's loads going on both socially and professionally, so it's a long way from the quiet backwater that I think some people think Guernsey might be.
RA: I would absolutely concur with that and the things that you were saying about community, Guernsey is so welcoming as well and it doesn't matter where you've come from, if you know, if you want to be in it, Guernsey has got a place for you, and that's a really compelling offer. So, tell me a little bit more about the Locate ‘Re-locate to Guernsey Show’. 
JS: The show provides an opportunity for anyone who might be considering relocation to come along and find out why they should and how they can move to Guernsey. It's a drop in event, starting at eleven o'clock in the morning until six o'clock in the evening. So people can go along at any time of the day to suit themselves, to speak to others and all the businesses and representatives from the island who will be there, offering professional services and expertise that those who are looking to relocate to the island would usually need to speak to, so it includes people like tax advisors, property experts, lawyers, education specialists, recruitment consultants, medical specialists, and even a few government officials sprinkled in. It's a great opportunity for people to come and listen to talks by some of these experts, and then be able to go and speak to them privately afterwards on their stands and to ask questions specific to their situation so it's a great opportunity to meet and listen to a group of people from the island all under one roof, and to be able to ask a lot of questions. I think several of those who are speaking or representing their businesses on exhibition stands are actually relocators themselves, so they'd be happy to chat about their personal experiences of relocation, what they think about life in Guernsey and then, obviously, in the afternoon session, we've got a panel session. People all came to Guernsey for work, but they all spotted opportunities in Guernsey to do other things. So they're now all running their own businesses. So I think that will be great session and actually very informative for those thinking about relocating a business to the island or establishing something new.
RA: I think you're right, and I think there's nothing more powerful is there than hearing from people who've done it themselves and gone through the process and you know, then they're there to share their stories. So what would you be telling people at the Relocate to Guernsey show about the benefits of living and working in Guernsey sort of separate to what you were saying earlier.
JS: I suppose some of them are going to repeat. There are so many benefits, but the main ones, obviously, are safety and security and the fantastic work life balance. It's a great quality of life, short commutes, but it's an attractive tax system as well. 20% flat rate of income tax with caps available. There's no capital gains tax, no inheritance taxes, and no wealth tax either. So we're English speaking, obviously in the same time zone as London. We're also politically independent so we make our own laws. We have our own government, which is very pro-business, and our regulator is well respected and pragmatic. I think it's also important to get across the message about how connected the community is with one another. People are very open to meeting for a coffee and generally will be very helpful. And obviously things such as great healthcare, a British education system, and actually, the island is just beautiful and quaint. There's an awful lot to like about it.
RA: How do people register?
JS: People register by going online to the Locate Guernsey website, www.locategernsey.com and then you click on ‘About the Relocate to Guernsey Show’, and you can order tickets that way. It's completely free to anyone who doesn't already live in Guernsey and as I said before, it's a drop in event, so people can come along at any time to suit themselves. Obviously, the seminar sessions are taking place late morning, about 11:45am to 1:15pm so across lunchtime-ish, but people will be on the exhibition stands even during the seminars. So there's always plenty of people around to chat to and ask questions of irrespective of what time you come. It's on the eighth of October, and it's at the ETC venues in St Paul's tube station. But there will be plenty of information available on the site as to how to find the venue. 
I just wanted to say the kind of people that were looking to come to the show, obviously, we're hoping there'll be end users, actual relocators that will be attending, but it's important for us that actually a lot of the professional advisory community come along. We realize there's a lot of the high-net-worth individuals or people who are considering establishing a business, a lot of them have long established relationships of trust with a wealth advisor or a tax advisor, a lawyer, a private banker, somebody who's perhaps been advising them or their family or their business for many years, and often, when you have a relationship like these, these professionals are the first people that potential clients might turn to for advice about where they might relocate to, and the advisor often, typically will provide a list of places to consider. We want to make sure that Guernsey is on that list. Sometimes people lump the Channel Islands together and assume that Guernsey's system is similar to Jersey’s, but in reality our criteria are very different, and it's actually so much easier to relocate to Guernsey than people imagine. I just want to make sure that this message is out there and that the advisory community understand just how straightforward it is for people to relocate to Guernsey, as well as the end users themselves.
RA: If people can't make it to the show, but they still have an interest about living and working in Guernsey, they can visit the website and have any sort of queries that they would like to be answered there. And they can also get in touch with you and the team as well.
JS:  It is an absolutely, totally free service. We are funded by the government, and we are there to help anybody who needs questions answered. There's no question too small or too stupid, we are there to answer all the what, where, when, why, how, questions. Just there to help because it's important that people make an informed decision, so that they know it's going to be right for them.