As Swoffers celebrates its 50th anniversary, two of our directors have been reflecting on their many roles including pet whisperer, counsellor, child minder, 24/7 guru, joy seeker, shepherder of process, juggler of many balls, and manager of expectations.
With a combined work history of 60 years, you might have thought that Shauna Clapham and Spencer Noyon had seen it all, but the truth is they are learning all the time, and people can still surprise them.
‘We do it because it’s part of the service,’ said Shauna, describing the variety involved in being an estate agent.
‘You have to look after people’, agreed Spencer, ‘and make yourself the first port of call for them.’
In any people-centric business there are bound to be some funny and memorable stories along the way. For instance, there was the time that a colleague had to drop his trousers in a greenhouse because a bee flew up his trouser leg.
Spencer went a step further when he accidentally sold the wrong apartment after the developer changed the numbers in the time between an offer being agreed and the sale going to court. He also got locked in a 3 ft by 3 ft lobby with a client. It was in the days before mobile phones, and he had to shout through the letterbox to get help. He also spent one Saturday afternoon chasing a dog around a garden after it escaped out the back door of the property.
There are plenty of stories of tenants who stay in bed while a viewing is underway, lots of tales involving keys, and anecdotes about pets, such as making sure the cat does not go in the same room as the parrot.
The varied nature of the work means that a good estate agent needs many skills. Spencer said the most important attribute was loving people and property.
‘You have to be passionate about property, you’ve got to live it and breathe it,’ he said.
‘And we’re very fortunate to have 30 plus members of a team who all feel exactly the same way.’
For most people, buying a home is the biggest purchase they will ever make, so among the estate agent’s skill set is the occasional requirement for a thick skin.
‘If the phone stops ringing for viewings, or you’ve got 250 houses on your books and you’re only getting one or two viewings a day, you have to put in the hard graft, you have to be picking up the phone and you can be like a window salesman, you will get a lot of people who don’t want to talk to you quite frankly, and you mustn’t lose confidence, you’ve got to pick up the phone again and go on to the next person.’
Getting out of the office, meeting people, and seeing fabulous houses makes being an estate agent an attractive option, but Spencer said it also involved long hours and being available at any time.
‘What people don’t see is the hours of work behind the scenes, doing all the paperwork or being shouted at, or chasing deals, or losing deals and managing the expectations.
‘So yes, there’s a glamour side, and there’s a hard work side as well.
‘And I think if you’re just chasing the glamour, it’s not the job for you.’
Not all company owners take the time to champion the staff around them, but at Swoffers this is part of our culture, helped by the fact that all of the directors work in the business. Mentorship allows others to advance and we have created a diverse team with an inclusive ethos.
As part of our 50th anniversary celebrations, we’ve turned back the clock to the 20th Century when Swoffers got its first female director.
It was early in 1987 that Maggie Meller joined Swoffers after being headhunted by Pat Swoffer. Prior to that, Maggie was co-director and owner of Neale & Partners in Mill Street, so she had already earned her property stripes and was well-known.
‘One of the things about being a woman in that particularly male-dominated profession was that I was unusual,’ she said.
‘I think that because I felt so strongly about the product I was selling, it came across as being genuine.
‘Eventually Swoffers became very female dominated.
‘In the mid 90s a very good girlfriend of mine, Penny Neale came along and was one of my negotiators, and then became my co-director and partner.
‘And I think between us we became a formidable team.
‘During those times it was routine for us to get between 85 and 90% of the open market sales in value terms, that was a huge achievement for the team.’
Maggie was a director at Swoffers for 15 years, retiring in 2002. She won’t like us saying this because she’s very unassuming, but she was a trailblazer who shattered the glass ceiling for the others coming up behind her.
‘You can’t be what you can’t see’ goes the saying, and Maggie’s visibility helped normalise seeing women at the top. In a competitive industry she didn’t reach her position by being sharp-shouldered, but instead she was incredibly knowledgeable, smart, empathetic, and generous with her time.
‘We had really good years and we had some desperate years when it was hard to get some sales, particularly with the open market.
‘But what we did in those days was we would think of somebody that we’d sold a house to maybe it was too big or maybe they needed a change. And we would sometimes agree swaps.
‘There was always an advantage on legal fees if you did an exchange rather than a straight sale.
‘So there were quite a lot of newcomers to the island who found themselves moving more frequently perhaps than they had anticipated.’
‘It was all about networking, but not in the true professional sense.
‘It was things that occurred, things that came up, things that you couldn’t foresee.
‘I think it was Pat Swoffer, who said to me, the three main reasons for people selling or moving is death, divorce or debt. And I think that’s carried through to this day.’
Fifteen years working as an estate agent will naturally throw up lots of funny and memorable stories, and Maggie has plenty to tell.
‘A young couple came into the office and they said they’d been recommended to me by a policeman as they walked down Candie Road. I had no idea who they were.
‘I took them out to see property and it was at the top end of the market. As we drove into the property the woman said: “Well, this is it, John. This is the house we’re going to buy.”
‘I thought this is strange, it was a very expensive property.
‘Subsequently, he made me an offer and went ahead and bought it.
‘About three weeks after they got in, I went to see them just to find out if they were okay and I said: “something’s puzzling me, why did you know immediately when we drove in?
‘She said “well, actually, I’ve got a great friend who reads tea leaves and she told me before we came to the island that I was going to buy something with pillars, and something that looked out to sea.”
‘And they are still there to this day.’
Another time someone from outside the island was looking to buy a hotel, but something about him seemed a bit off. Maggie’s suspicions proved correct when the guy was later arrested leaving the island having not paid his bill at the Hotel de Havelet. It was in the days when guests didn’t have to leave a credit card impression at reception. It turned out that he had just wanted a free holiday, and the narrative about buying a hotel had been part of the ruse.
It was a great career and one she misses, but Maggie acknowledges that things have changed. In her day contracts were drawn up by the estate agents and sent in draft to the advocates with a 14-day clause to get the survey, finance and title through. Nowadays it can take longer, and she’d like to see all the professionals to get together and sort the system out.
Swoffers hitting its 50 year milestone hasn’t come as a surprise to Maggie. She puts the longevity down to the team spirit, family-like atmosphere in the office, and the directors all working in the business.
For the full interview with Maggie, go to our YouTube channel here.
Swoffers has confirmed its reputation as Guernsey’s leading estate agent, with latest figures showing that we are selling more open market homes than all the competition combined.
So far this year in the open market sector, there have been 56 concluded sales, and Swoffers negotiated 31 of them. Our nearest competitor has sold seven.
It means that Swoffers has been responsible for more than four times the transactions of any other agent. We are proud that our experience, expertise, and hard work is allowing us to dominate the open market sector.
Our open market success comes hot on the heels of an independent survey which found that Swoffers is the most recommended brand in the island’s property sector. We were ranked as the top agency regarding values such as trustworthiness, quality service, and giving back to the community.
One of the main attractions of relocating to Guernsey is the island’s favourable taxation system. There are some very enticing tax caps, and there is no capital gains tax, inheritance, wealth, or sales tax.
We have clients on and off island looking to move home. Please contact our team if you are looking at selling or buying, or would just like some expert property advice.
Art for Guernsey has secured a gallery in the heart of St Peter Port’s Old Quarter, which presents a unique opportunity for the charity to provide a much-needed, long-awaited key creative asset for the island.
Art for Guernsey is a charitable initiative managed by a team of passionate professionals who share a belief in the transformative power of art to bring communities together, provide educational opportunities and support local tourism. The team believes that Guernsey possesses a high degree of integrity and an incredible set of community values – indeed, Art for Guernsey was founded by David Ummels in response to these special assets.
‘Working for the community is in our DNA,’ explains David. ‘It’s what motivates us to work for the greater good to bring people together, provide educational opportunities through multi-curricular projects, support local artists and welcome visiting artists whilst nurturing creativity, promoting Cultural Diplomacy and creating an artistic legacy for Guernsey. We have a strong remit to bring art where it is most needed, to inspire people and try to make them happy.’
In its first five years Art for Guernsey has delivered many inspiring, entertaining and innovative local and international art events and exhibitions. Having its own gallery space is a game-changing development which marks the first step of an exciting new journey. When the team looked around the expansive space, which spans over two floors, they could see the potential to create an art centre with a gallery space, library, children’s wing, workshops and a strong room for particularly valuable artworks. The AFG Academy will be established, enabling students to develop their talents on the island. This will bridge an identified skills gap between secondary education and art school, and its non-prescriptive approach will connect local art students to local and visiting artists through workshops and mentoring programmes run in parallel with exhibitions.
www.johnrossphotography.co.uk
Inclusivity is crucial, so the charity will work with the Disability Alliance to ensure that the gallery will be fully accessible. Art for Guernsey has a strong record of inclusivity, including multiple collaborations with 18 island schools, Arts for Impact, the Sovereign Art Foundation, Guernsey Cheshire Home, the Ron Short Centre, the Princess Elizabeth Hospital, Les Nicolles Prison, the Youth Commission and Guille-Allès Library. The charity has further reinforced its ability to deliver on its inclusivity narrative by joining forces with Arts for Impact to create one sole organisation.
Earlier this year, Art for Guernsey staged a unique exhibition, Transformation, to introduce islanders to the AFG Gallery and to raise funds for the redevelopment of the building. Five of the UK’s top contemporary street artists – Daniel Hosego, Teddy Baden, Leo Boyd, Charlie Mcfarley and Vesna Parchet – were in residence for six days, during which they collaborated with a select group of local students to cover the walls with their sensational, colourful and often irreverent works of art. The artists were given free rein to transform the gallery and the results were remarkable.
A number of the visiting artists have been involved in rejuvenation projects, which tied in perfectly with Art for Guernsey’s desire to provide a catalyst to help to revitalise the Old Quarter, once a thriving part of town but now in need of investment. For the month that Transformation was open, there was a buzz in the area that had been lacking for many years. Art For Guernsey’s Jock Pettitt reports: ‘The exhibition saw a steady stream of visitors all day, peaking on the weekends. Many came back several times and almost everyone commented how much this was needed, and how they loved this part of town and were keen to see it coming back to life.’
David adds: ‘Around 2,500 visitors came to the show and many neighbours operating shops in Mill Street and Mansell Street reported an uplift in their trading during the exhibition. We welcomed our neighbours in the gallery to discuss how collectively we could creatively improve the Old Quarter and raise its attractivity. The States of Guernsey, the Guernsey Retail Group and the Chamber of Commerce were all represented at senior level at this informal gathering, and an excellent momentum has been set for further collaborations between us, in particular around art and food and the concept of street festivals.’
The exhibition itself was a huge success, so much so that many of the artists sent new artworks and received a number of commissions. Not only was it an opportunity to view and buy art, but it also provided an ideal platform for the team to engage with the community and communicate their plans. ‘The exhibition was incredibly well received, in particular by the younger generation, whose favourite phrase was “this is sick”. We managed to run a number of community events over the duration of the show, including engagements with the Youth Commission, Arts for Impact, the Mill Street Community Café, the Disability Alliance and the Guernsey Skate Parks – the last weekend was dedicated to street art and skateboarding,’ says David.
Work has now begun on the fit-out of the AFG Gallery, which will reopen in the autumn with an exciting exhibition, A Renaissance of Victor Hugo, which will celebrate the legacy of the great French writer, who spent 15 years in exile on the island. Curated in collaboration with Hauteville House, the exhibition will feature works by Daniel Hosego and Oleg Mikhailov, both AFG artists in residence.
The Art for Guernsey team is convinced that an inclusive and inspiring home for the arts, which nurtures independent thinking and creativity, will be a valuable asset for the island, and that the rejuvenation of the Old Quarter will benefit islanders and visitors alike. David feels that the future looks bright: ‘With the help of all our supporters, benefactors and sponsors, and the amazing passion and drive animating the team, I am confident that we will succeed to deliver this for the common good of the island.’
Photo credits to JR Photography and Leading Light Photography
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The average price of a local market home in Guernsey has gone up significantly and it now stands at nearly £600,000.
Despite a cost-of-living crisis and rising interest rates, the latest statistics from the States property prices quarter two bulletin reveal the big surge. The average price of a local market home went up 4.5% on the previous quarter, and up 18.5% year-on-year.
In total, there were 236 local market sales during the second quarter of 2022, which was an increase on the previous quarter, but a drop compared to the same time last year.
Interpreting the figures, Swoffers negotiator Antonia Thomas said they reflected the buoyant state of the market.
“We are continuing to see high levels of demand, with demand far outstripping supply, so it’s inevitable that this will push prices up. There is a general awareness of inflation, the cost of living, and interest rates going up, but both of Guernsey’s housing markets have shown a lot of resilience to these factors so far.
“The statistics show that vendors are getting closer to their asking prices, and that’s a reflection of the determination of buyers to secure a home. At the same time, the turnaround of properties is high and buyers need to act swiftly when they see something they want.
“We anticipate a levelling off on prices in the future leading to a period of greater stability.
The local economy remains strong and there are plenty of buyers who are monitoring the market on the side lines and waiting for the best time to buy or for the perfect property to come to market. Despite the challenges, the banks are lending, and home ownership remains a keen aspiration for many people. Guernsey has an enduring desirability, so people feel confident about buying a home here.”
The Open Market statistics showed that average prices remained pretty much stable from the previous quarter and up slightly from the same quarter in 2021. Craig Whitman, Swoffers Managing Director said:
“The high volume of sales over the last couple of years means that stock levels have fallen in recent times, and there continues to be an appetite for individuals to relocate to Guernsey to take advantage of our stability, independence, safety, and low tax environment. To date, so far this year there have been 56 sales concluded, of which Swoffers has been responsible for 31 – more than 4 times any other agent on the Island. We continue to promote Guernsey across new markets, with further trips overseas planned for our team this year to continue to push all that we have to offer as an Island.”
In the lettings market, high demand means that rents have also gone up. The average rental price for a local market home is £1,817 per month, representing a 9.3% rise on the previous quarter, and 14% higher year-on-year.
Laura Gorvel, Local Market Lettings Negotiator said:
“Mirroring the sales market, the Letting market continues to experience unprecedented demand across all levels. We see no sign of this abating in the short term but also recognise the dangers of this heated market and the pressures it brings to bear on those trying to find a home, especially those who have been looking for some time, without success, and have to leave their existing home soon. Regrettably, even if we could magic up another 50 properties overnight, this would not be sufficient given the current demand levels we are experiencing.”
Headlines from the latest States property bulletin:
- The average price of a local market home is £598,963
- The average time between a local home going on the market and its subsequent sale continues to decrease. There has been a small uptick in the time taken in the open market
- The gap between advertised prices and actual sales prices continues to narrow
- There were 19 open market sales during April, May, and June
- The median price of the open market transactions was £1,366,843
Out of the 236 local market transactions, the highest number of sales was in the £600,000 to £999,999 price band. There were 22 local market transactions over £1 million. The total value of all conveyances recorded by the Greffe during the second quarter was £194 million.
Relocating can be daunting, but once you have decided on Guernsey you can get here quickly and easily.
Our Open Market Lettings Negotiator, Sue Nicolle, explains why finding temporary accommodation before buying the perfect home may be an option for you, while our Senior Property Manager Nikki Trebert discusses how Swoffers’ bespoke property management service takes the stress out of letting.
There are many advantages to living in Guernsey, not least its low tax regime. But the most compelling reason for moving is the lifestyle enjoyed by islanders. ‘If you’re going somewhere for tax reasons then you’ve got many choices,’ says Open Market Lettings Negotiator Sue Nicolle. ‘But the people who come here tend to be those who appreciate what else the island has to offer, which includes a high-quality housing market for both buyers and renters.’
At the height of the pandemic, demand for properties outstripped supply. ‘At times last year we simply couldn’t get enough properties; we literally ran out,’ says Sue. And there is still a healthy level of interest in relocating to Guernsey, with Swoffers continuing to list a good range of properties, from one-bedroom apartments to high-value family homes.
Whether you are holding out for the perfect property or want to take some time before deciding if the island ticks all your boxes, renting can be an option worth considering. As Sue explains: ‘Some people take the opportunity to rent while they look for the right property to buy. There are lots of considerations, such as settling in families and choosing the right schools and so on, and we know just how important it is to find the right place.’
Renting also brings a level of flexibility. If you have a property to sell but want to leave the UK before the new tax year commences, this can give clients the essential time they need. ‘If people are selling an asset in the UK and it’s not going to happen before 5th April, they often need to be resident here before the new tax year. It’s such an easy process to come and rent here, particularly if you’re a British passport holder,’ says Sue.
For an easy transition, nothing could be simpler than renting a fully furnished and equipped home, particularly if you are holding onto your existing property. The starting point for an Open Market rental is in the region of £2,200 a month, rising to £120,000 plus per annum for the most spectacular properties.
Swoffers receives enquires from across all age ranges: ‘We get professional singles and couples coming for work, and others coming for the lifestyle. Whatever the demographic, everyone benefits from our lovely quality of life. For families, the island has excellent states schools and those looking at private schools have a wider choice than ever, since former boys’ school Elizabeth College became fully co-educational in September 2021.’
Many prospective clients want to find a place without any fuss, which is why our property management department works closely with the rentals team. As Senior Property Manager Nikki Trebert explains, ‘We not only manage properties that are tenanted, but we also offer a bespoke management service for landlords, both of which go hand-in-hand.
‘It’s often used by our clients who may only be here part of the time and need someone to look after the property for them whilst they’re away. We provide them with a tailored service to meet their needs, which can often include finding tenants who need a temporary base while they look for something more permanent.
‘The last thing that a busy landlord who has essential business elsewhere needs is more admin, while prospective tenants require good and frequent communication. With our two teams working together we can do just that, without our clients having the hassle of dealing with multiple separate agencies.’
And for those owners who do not wish to let their home, that’s no problem. The team will provide the essential services that ensure the property is maintained in the client’s absence.
‘From a management perspective, we take all the stress away from our clients, whilst keeping them fully informed,’ continues Nikki. ‘We’ve been in the property market for a long time and we know what our clients really need from their agent, which is why we have created this bespoke service.’
Whether you’re looking to relocate to Guernsey, or you’re a landlord in need of a property management service, get in touch with us today.
An important part of the Swoffers’ success story is that we are wholly owned by five Directors who all work in the business. That ethos was established 50 years ago by our founders.
As part of our Golden Anniversary celebrations we’ve been finding out more about our early days. Adrian Heyworth is best known now as the former leaseholder of Herm along with his wife Pennie. But in his 20s, Adrian was working at Swoffers and became a director.
Pat Swoffer and Richard Read started Swoffers on 17th July 1972, and Adrian joined the team at the end of that year. Their first office was in the building just up from the Swan Inn on St Julian’s Avenue. After about five years there, they moved up the hill into a corner office of the current premises.
Initially the new office did not have the correct planning permission because it was classed as retail. As a temporary get-around Swoffers sold fine art in its windows before it secured a change of use.
Pat and Richard have both died, so Adrian is the living link to those early days. He recalls a very different working lifestyle in comparison to now.
‘I’ll be quite frank, it was actually very easy, it was easy pickings in those days and low overheads. We didn’t work nearly as hard as people do today.
‘We would get in at 9am, we’d have an hour and a half for lunch and it necessitated playing squash so you could meet and make contacts and socialise, and we made sure we were finished by five o’clock so we could go sailing.
‘It was far less professional. I have three members of our family who are chartered surveyors, and they work far harder, and the sort of compliance issues are much greater than ours in those days.
‘I take my hat off to them because they really do work hard. They have a different ethos, it’s much more competitive.
‘For us, life was fun all the time.’
Pat Swoffer had been an RAF man before returning to Guernsey. He tried his hand at horticulture and he did a stint flying for Aurigny before starting up Swoffers. He was in his early 40s at this time, and he was known as a very sociable character who knew lots of people through sport and charitable endeavours.
Richard Read was from the UK, he was the accountant and was regarded as very bright and intelligent. Adrian was the 20-year-old, nice, clean-cut, young man. He would spend a lot of time going to the airport to meet potential open market settlers, to try to charm them and encourage them to buy a house.
At that time the open market was very buoyant because of high taxation in the UK, including capital gains tax and death duties. In comparison, the local market was slow. The local finance industry was still in its infancy, and in its first decade Swoffers helped banks move to the island by securing banking halls and homes for key staff.
Nowadays the characters working in property are perhaps slightly less flamboyant. The long hours and stringent compliance rules mean there is less time for playing squash and throwing dinner parties. But in the early days, having a wide social network was important.
‘It was all about contacts, who you knew, and we were a good partnership in the context that we had very good contacts.
‘As Swoffers developed, Penny and Maggie were brought in and they were devastatingly successful, persuasive young women who were well-known.
‘They really built up the business, they knew how to socialise and look after the open market people .’
Technology-wise it was a completely different world with no computers and mobile phones.
‘There was a box containing cards with all of the applicants, and you would have a property and you would be looking at all of the applicants, and I always remember Pat Swoffer would say “somewhere in that box is somebody who will buy that house”.
‘We had an association with an estate agency in Buckinghamshire called AC Frost & Co, and they had a very modern card index system.
‘There were lots of holes in the cards to indicate small house, big house, garden, whatever.
‘They were all in a rack and you’d put a pin through to find which ones married up.’
Adrian left Swoffers in 1980 so that he and his wife could take charge of Herm. He said he was proud to have been part of a company that has been so successful. He finds it rewarding that even to this day he still sees people who he encouraged to buy open market homes, and they tell him they’re glad they did it.
‘Almost without exception they have been bowled over with what Guernsey has had to offer, and I’m sure it’s the same with new people today.’
Today the team at Swoffers is more than 30 strong, with some having enjoyed more than 20 years in the business, and there are others who have more than 10 years. They are proud, competitive, hardworking and successful individuals who strive to achieve the best result on behalf of their clients. There is a family-like atmosphere in the office with everyone supporting each other. Swoffers remains in safe hands.
The era of the pandemic after a new virus was found in Wuhan, China. Despite two lockdowns Guernsey’s property market showed its resilience. The average price of a local house pushed through a significant barrier for the first time. Here’s the last video in our nostalgia series marking 50 years of Swoffers.
An important part of the Swoffers’ success story is that we are wholly owned by five Directors who all work in the business. That ethos was established 50 years ago by our founders.
As part of our Golden Anniversary celebrations we’ve been finding out more about our early days. Adrian Heyworth is best known now as the former leaseholder of Herm along with his wife Pennie. But in his 20s, Adrian was working at Swoffers and became a director.
Pat Swoffer and Richard Read started Swoffers on 17th July 1972, and Adrian joined the team at the end of that year. Their first office was in the building just up from the Swan Inn on St Julian’s Avenue. After about five years there, they moved up the hill into a corner office of the current premises.
Initially the new office did not have the correct planning permission because it was classed as retail. As a temporary get-around Swoffers sold fine art in its windows before it secured a change of use.
Pat and Richard have both died, so Adrian is the living link to those early days. He recalls a very different working lifestyle in comparison to now.
‘I’ll be quite frank, it was actually very easy, it was easy pickings in those days and low overheads. We didn’t work nearly as hard as people do today.
‘We would get in at 9am, we’d have an hour and a half for lunch and it necessitated playing squash so you could meet and make contacts and socialise, and we made sure we were finished by five o’clock so we could go sailing.
‘It was far less professional. I have three members of our family who are chartered surveyors, and they work far harder, and the sort of compliance issues are much greater than ours in those days.
‘I take my hat off to them because they really do work hard. They have a different ethos, it’s much more competitive.
‘For us, life was fun all the time.’
Pat Swoffer had been an RAF man before returning to Guernsey. He tried his hand at horticulture and he did a stint flying for Aurigny before starting up Swoffers. He was in his early 40s at this time, and he was known as a very sociable character who knew lots of people through sport and charitable endeavours.
Richard Read was from the UK, he was the accountant and was regarded as very bright and intelligent. Adrian was the 20-year-old, nice, clean-cut, young man. He would spend a lot of time going to the airport to meet potential open market settlers, to try to charm them and encourage them to buy a house.
At that time the open market was very buoyant because of high taxation in the UK, including capital gains tax and death duties. In comparison, the local market was slow. The local finance industry was still in its infancy, and in its first decade Swoffers helped banks move to the island by securing banking halls and homes for key staff.
Nowadays the characters working in property are perhaps slightly less flamboyant. The long hours and stringent compliance rules mean there is less time for playing squash and throwing dinner parties. But in the early days, having a wide social network was important.
‘It was all about contacts, who you knew, and we were a good partnership in the context that we had very good contacts.
‘As Swoffers developed, Penny and Maggie were brought in and they were devastatingly successful, persuasive young women who were well-known.
‘They really built up the business, they knew how to socialise and look after the open market people .’
Technology-wise it was a completely different world with no computers and mobile phones.
‘There was a box containing cards with all of the applicants, and you would have a property and you would be looking at all of the applicants, and I always remember Pat Swoffer would say “somewhere in that box is somebody who will buy that house”.
‘We had an association with an estate agency in Buckinghamshire called AC Frost & Co, and they had a very modern card index system.
‘There were lots of holes in the cards to indicate small house, big house, garden, whatever.
‘They were all in a rack and you’d put a pin through to find which ones married up.’
Adrian left Swoffers in 1980 so that he and his wife could take charge of Herm. He said he was proud to have been part of a company that has been so successful. He finds it rewarding that even to this day he still sees people who he encouraged to buy open market homes, and they tell him they’re glad they did it.
‘Almost without exception they have been bowled over with what Guernsey has had to offer, and I’m sure it’s the same with new people today.’
Today the team at Swoffers is more than 30 strong, with some having enjoyed more than 20 years in the business, and there are others who have more than 10 years. They are proud, competitive, hardworking and successful individuals who strive to achieve the best result on behalf of their clients. There is a family-like atmosphere in the office with everyone supporting each other. Swoffers remains in safe hands.
The Clean Earth Trust is a Guernsey-based charity helping to limit human impact on the environment. Helen Quin, Head of Operations, talked to us earlier in the year about the issues we face and what we can do to improve the health of our island and its inhabitants.
Andrew Munro was with his family in Herm when, picking up a chocolate wrapper, he considered what a huge difference it would make if everyone picked up one piece of litter every day. With a desire to spark an individual responsibility for taking care of their environment, Andrew started the #pickitupguernsey campaign to deal with the problem of discarded cigarette butts. After winning awards for his participation in the community, Andrew established The Clean Earth Trust in 2018 and Helen Quin took on the role of Head of Operations, alongside a team of volunteers.
Helen herself had wanted to change the direction of her career following something of an epiphany when she was working in Montenegro: ‘I was having lunch at one of my favourite waterside restaurants in the Bay of Kotor. It was completely magical, and I realised that I loved it so much because it was a family-run business, and it was affordable and fresh because the food came from outside their front door,’ says Helen. ‘The sky was clear, the air was clean and the water was beautiful. I was working for a super-yacht marina and luxury residential property developer in the Bay at the time and the area was changing at pace. I couldn’t get it out of my head that we were impacting nature heavily and essentially destroying everything I loved about living there – I was part of the problem, so I resigned shortly after.’
For those of us living in Guernsey, it is no longer possible to feel disconnected from the crisis facing our planet. As Helen points out: ‘We’re really privileged in Guernsey to have such an incredible infrastructure that supports us, especially with our waste. We leave our waste outside our front door at night and it’s gone by the next morning. We don’t have to think about the impact our choices are having. It’s easy to forget who is paying for it, too: as a consumer, we’re paying for the production of that product and its packaging, the shipping of that product, the actual product, and then the disposal of that product, and then the after-effects of that product going back into the ecosystem in some way, either being recycled, put into landfill or burned. We actually have a great deal of control and influence through our consumption choices.’
We are all aware that plastic is a huge problem for the environment. ‘Plastic pollution is complete insanity on our part. There’s been no long-term thought put into the use of this material, which has a very short lifecycle, and we’re so overrun by it, it’s become commonly accepted that it ends up in the sea. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is three times the size of France, how are we not all outraged by this? It comes down to the way that we live our lives, with the constant need for convenience and immediacy with everything,’ says Helen, who remembers the first time she saw evidence of microplastics on Grandes Rocques beach. ‘My heart broke, because I’d never seen it here before. Ignorantly, I’d thought it was something we wouldn’t be affected by here in Guernsey. It was a stark reminder of our interconnectedness,’ she recalls. ‘Food-related waste is the biggest contributor to what we’re seeing on our beaches. Even fishing gear, it’s all about food and how we transport and consume it. There’s no reason in Guernsey for any of us to drink a bottle of water – we’ve got an incredibly high standard of water here. In Paris they’ve got an incredible tap refill system, including sparkling water, and you can buy reusable bottles from vending machines. If Paris can do something like that, why can’t we?’
It’s easy to despair at the apathy surrounding the need to make the changes that are needed. ‘Change can be difficult and uncomfortable, but change is a certainty and it will happen whether we choose it or not. We have to ask ourselves, what role do we want to play in climate change? How do we want to leave this planet for our children and beyond? They’re the ones who are going to be picking up the tab for the impact of our current lifestyles,’ says Helen. ‘The train has left the station and we’re trying to catch up. But we’ll never catch up if we don’t start moving.’
The good news is that The Clean Earth Trust is doing a lot. ‘It’s growing all the time, and we’re so grateful for the positive response to the charity over the past 18 months. It’s inspiring to know that there are people out there who believe in what we’re doing and are empowered to take responsibility for our community and our environment. We have a fantastic team of volunteers who have all got their own day jobs, but are still willing to give extra time to contribute and help spread the word. And we’ve got a real range of background and experiences on the team – climate change and environmental degradation is relevant to, and will impact, everyone,’ says Helen.
We can’t afford to be complacent in Guernsey. ‘We are lucky enough to have nature on our doorstep, but nature needs us to step up and protect it. It’s the very source of what we need to survive – no environment, no economy! There’s a dominant industry in Guernsey which isn’t focused on nature but is highly influential and could create very tangible change. It’s part of our role to reach the whole community and inspire positive change for the environment.’
Getting involved with The Clean Earth Trust’s many initiatives is an ideal place to start protecting what we have. Beach cleans take place every weekend: ‘Our beach cleaning team is fantastic, getting stuck in whatever the weather and surveying what they collect so we can monitor the types of waste that are washing up on our shores. They do an amazing job, and with such good spirits.’ Taking part is a great opportunity for children to learn about personal responsibility, whilst getting outside in nature.
The Repair Cafe team has a team of 17. ‘We’ve got someone who looks after musical instrument repairs, and someone who can fix small electrical goods. We’ve got quite a few seamstresses, someone who looks after reupholstering furniture and a leatherwear repairer. And then we’ve got a great group who look after the clothes swap, they’re really passionate about circular fashion.’ Other initiatives include the 30 Sustainability challenge, Adopt a Patch and the Litter Picker Lending Scheme.
What is crucial is to let go of the feeling that we can only ever be a drop in the ocean. As Helen says: ‘Don’t underestimate your own individual power and influence – it takes individuals. The Paris Agreement was put together by a group of individuals and if they hadn’t had the passion and determination to get it over the line, where would we be now? And it doesn’t have to be world-changing to be worth doing. If you can influence your immediate friends and family, that’s enough. The premise of the charity is to seed that individual responsibility and get people to look at the way that they’re interacting with their natural environment and to make better choices. A healthier planet means healthier people, after all.’
To find out more about The Clean Earth Trust and how you can get involved, take a look at cleanearthtrust.org.
