Marrache & Co are to hold a series of biannual seminars to inform their clients and the local financial community about the latest developments in particular areas of the law. The first of these – on “Buying property in Spain” – will held on May 10 at the Elliot Hotel.

The topic for the second seminar, which is planned for September, will be “Financial Services in Gibraltar”.

The seminar will deal with the entire purchasing procedure, from the initial search for a property to mortgage selection and the legal and tax ramifications involved in the purchase of a property in Spain.

It will be chaired by Benjamin Marrache of Marrache & Co, Gibraltar and speakers will include Gabriel G Benavides, the senior Spanish lawyer practicing on the Rock, Jesus Hernandez Carmona, Lino Brydges of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Real Mortgage department, Brian Francis managing director of Brian Francis & Associates and Jeremy Boyd, the sales and lettings manager of Norwich & Peterborough Building Society.

As space will be a limited, anyone wishing to attend the seminar should reserve a place by phoning the seminar coordinator Anna Moffatt on 79205 or by email on: anna@marrache.com

In the 17 years since local international lawyers Marrache & Co. opened a dedicated Spanish law department the firm has clocked up a string of successes at whose core lie the many advantages an English speaking client dealing in Spain enjoys by using a Spanish department in a Gibraltar company as a “bridge” between the two jurisdictions and their disparate cultures.

Marrache’s Spanish department focuses on three main areas of practice. The main thrust of its conveyancing department is to ease what can be a complicated process for purchasers of property in Spain. Its active commercial department specialises setting up companies in Spain and Marrache’s Spanish department is also well versed in the Spanish tax system and can offer expert advice on tax planning.

“Although our Spanish department’s main workload comprises these areas of the law, we are here to offer advice on all Spanish legal matters, untangling and explaining in everyday language what for many may be an unfamiliar and alien legal system,” a spokesman for the firm says. “We can provide assistance in such typically problem areas as mortgages, securing title, tax and inheritance advice, wills in Spain, and obtaining a Fiscal Identification Number (NIE).

“Our lawyers are all fluent in English thus bridging the language barrier that so often complicates and clouds such matters.”

The five-strong Spanish legal team and their support staff is led by Gabriel Garcia Benavides, who has been with the department since its inception. And the department’s success has prompted Marrache & Co. to open an office in Torreguadiaro near Sotogrande – in addition to those in Gibraltar, London and Lisbon – from May this year.

The new Marrache office will deal exclusively with Spanish law in a similar vein to the work that has been carried out by the Spanish department for almost two decades.

In January the Legislative Support Unit of the Government ran a series of information seminars on the Data Protection Ordinance – legislation which though passed in 2004 has not yet been brought into force. The seminars were intended to inform businesses about their responsibilities regarding data they hold.

The main purpose of the legislation is to ensure that data held is accurate and up to date and to ensure that people know how information about them is being used. It places responsibilities on people who control information and gives rights to those about whom information is kept.

There are four basic principles behind the legislation:

• The data must be obtained fairly and lawfully;
• it must be accurate and, where
necessary, kept up to date;
• it must be collected for a specific purpose or purposes and not further processed in a way incompatible with that purpose or those purposes; it must not be excessive in relation to that purpose or purposes and not kept for longer than necessary; and
• appropriate security measures must be taken to prevent unauthorised access to, and accidental or unauthorised alterations to, the stored data.

Most businesses and organisations, including public bodies, which process or store information by computer will in due course need to register with the Data Protection Commissioner which
is the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority.

Businesses and services may incur some costs in complying with the Data Protection Ordinance but the LSU assures that every effort has been made to keep these as low as possible. Companies should appoint a senior individual with responsibility for data protection within their organisation. This individual should familiarise themselves with the Ordinance and look to ensure that their company is in a position to comply with the Ordinance when it is introduced. The appointed person will also need to keep a record of what personal data has been collected and what purpose it is used for as well as ensuring that the data is held securely.

Many companies will already comply but those that are not in a position to do so should start preparation as soon as they can. Below is a checklist for companies to help them. If you can tick all the boxes then it is likely you’re your company is up to date and probably already complies with the proposed legislation. If there are boxes that you are unable to tick then you should begin making provision to enable your company to comply.

No date has yet been set for the introduction and commencement of the Ordinance although the LSU is keen to hear the business community’s views on commencement, including the possibility of phased commencement. Phased commencement would concern new data collected and stored by companies and would not refer to historic data. Members can send these views directly to the LSU or via the Chamber.

Assessment Checklist – Do you comply?

Fair obtaining:
• At the time when we collect information about individuals, are they made aware of the uses for that information?
• Are people made aware of any disclosures of their personal information to third parties?
• Have we obtained people’s consent for any secondary uses of their personal information, which might not be obvious to them?
• Can we describe our data collection practices as open, transparent and up-front?

Purpose specification
• Are we clear about the purpose (or purposes) for which we keep personal information?
• Are the individuals about who we keep personal information also clear about this purpose (or purposes)?
• If we are required to register with the Data Protection Commissioner, does our register entry (or entries) include a proper, comprehensive statement of our purpose (or purposes)? [Remember, if you are using personal information for a purpose not listed on your register entry, you may be committing an offence.]
• Has responsibility been assigned to a member of staff for maintaining a list of the different types of personal information which we keep and the purpose associated with each different type?

Use and disclosure of information
• Do we have clear defined rules about the use and disclosure of personal information?
• Do those rules comply with the Data Protection Ordinance?
• Are all staff aware of these rules?
• Are the individuals about whom we keep personal information aware of the uses and disclosures of their personal information? Would they be surprised if they learned about them? Consider whether the consent of the individuals should be obtained for these uses and disclosures.
• If we are required to register with the Data Protection Commissioner, does our register entry (or entries) include a full list of persons to whom we may need to disclose personal information? [Remember, if you disclose personal information to someone not listed on your register entry, you may be committing an offence.]

Security
• Do we have a list of security provisions in place for each different type of personal information including both information kept on computer and data kept in manual records (i.e. non computerised)?
• Do we have a procedure for the development and review of these security provisions? Is someone responsible for this?
• Are these security provisions appropriate to the sensitivity of the personal information which we keep?
• Are our computers and our databases password protected, and encrypted if appropriate?
• Are our computers and our servers securely locked away from unauthorised people?
• How do we store personal information which is in manual form (i.e. not on a computer)? Is this information securely kept from unauthorised people?
Adequate, relevant and not excessive
• Do we collect all the personal information we need to serve our purpose(s) effectively, and in a way which treats individuals in a fair and comprehensive manner?
• Have we checked to make sure that all the personal information we collect is relevant, and not excessive, for our specified purpose(s)?
• If an individual asked us to justify every piece of information we hold about him or her, could we do so?
• Do we have a policy in this regard?

Accurate and up-to-date
• Do we check that the personal information we hold about individuals is accurate?
• Do we know how much of the personal information we hold about individuals is time-sensitive, i.e. likely to become inaccurate over time unless it is updated?
• Do we take steps to ensure that the personal information we hold about individuals is kept up-to-date?

Retention time
• Do we have a clear policy on how long we keep items of personal information about individuals?
• Are we clear about any legal requirements on us to retain personal information for a particular period of time?
• Do we regularly purge our manual and computer records of personal information which we no longer need, such as personal information relating to former customers or former staff members?
• Do we have a policy on deleting personal information as soon as the purpose for which we obtained the data has been completed?

The Right of Access to Personal Information
• Is a named individual responsible for handling requests for access to personal information?
• Are there clear procedures in place for dealing with such requests?
• Do these procedures guarantee compliance with the requirements of the Data Protection Ordinance?

Registration
• Are we clear about whether or not we need to register with the Data Protection Commissioner?
• If registration is required, is the registration kept up to date? Does the registration accurately reflect our practices for handling personal information? Does the registration accurately reflect all of our processing operations? [Remember, if your data-handling practices are out of line with the details set out in your register entry(ies), you may be committing an offence.]
• Is a named individual responsible for meeting our registration requirements and ensuring that our registration is kept up to date?

Training & Education
• Do we know about the levels of awareness of data protection in our organisation?
• Are all of our staff aware of their data protection responsibilities – including the need for confidentiality?
• Is data protection included as part of the training programme for our staff?

Co-ordination and Compliance
• Have we appointed a data protection coordinator and compliance person?
• Are all staff aware of his or her role?
• Are there mechanisms in place for formal review by the coordinator of data protection activities within our organisation?
• Are we required by the Data Protection Ordinance to appoint a personal data protection official? If so have we appointed one and ensured that they are equipped to undertake their role?

Copies of a guide published by the LSU on the Ordinance may be obtained from the home page of the Government’s website: www.gibraltar.gov.gi

If you have any further questions about this Ordinance or are
unclear as to what your responsibilities are, please contact the Chamber directly on 78376 or by email info@gibraltarchamberofcommerce.com Alternatively, you can contact Nathalia Berkowitz directly at the LSU on 45925.

With more than £75 million worth of new private developments in the pipeline – almost all intended for the upper rungs of the housing ladder – and a further £100 million of luxury accommodation either recently finished or close to completion, for how much longer can Gibraltar’s property market continue to expand? None of the local developers to whom B2B has spoken puts a finite figure to either saturation point of demand or the stage of expansion where new developments are no longer profitable or economically viable; but all expect the boom to continue for the foreseeable future.

At the other end of the scale, lower-priced, “affordable” housing remains scarce – in spite of Government promises to develop and promote many more low-cost homes. Prices for “moderate” homes have more than doubled in the past five years, prompting developer Gavin Sharrock of Sharrock Shand to wonder “just what do we mean when we refer to ‘affordable’ today?”

In fact the rising prices and the scarcity of lower-cost properties continue to encourage the Rock’s first time purchasers – and some expatriates – to buy homes in the compact town-house estates which are mushrooming in areas such as Santa Margarita across the border. Though Spanish coastal property prices also continue their upward spirals, these are nowhere near as steep as those in Gibraltar. And – bad news for the Rock’s retailers – those who have established homes in Spain tend to do their shopping there too.

What’s more – in spite of Chief Minister Peter Caruana’s assertion that the Government’s new housing projects were intended to attract the return of Gibraltarians from residence in Spain to the Rock, when the new projects were advertised less than 30 of the applications were from people wishing to return to the Rock.

Developer Greg Butcher has included “a few” lower-cost apartments in his plans for the second phase of the Ocean Village development which will take the over all cost of the project close to £100 million. The apartment blocks will provide a total of about 150 new homes and some of these are promised to fall within the “affordable” price range. However, given the continuing upward spiral in the price of homes, “affordable” could well put the costs of cheaper flats in the 90-apartment Grand Ocean Plaza and the 60-apartment Majestic Ocean Plaza at £200,000 or more.

Butcher’s plans for two more apartment blocks includes a shopping mall – a complex which he claims will create somewhere in the vicinity of 500 new jobs.

None of the 20 apartments in the Taylor Woodrow Rock Gardens development, where a “roof-wetting” or “topping-out” ceremony was held at the end of February, was priced at less than £300,000 while the top-of-the-range homes were sold for slightly under £1 million. All have been bought.

And the demand for luxury homes shows no sign of abating. David Evans of Elegant Homes – the developers of The Island project at Queensway Quay – told B2B the company have already sold 28 of the 40 new two-and three-bed luxury apartments they are building in a £28 million project which stems from the demand partly created by would-be buyers who failed to obtain a home on The Island. Like Sharrock and Butcher, Evans sees no end of the boom for the foreseeable future.

Sharrock Shand – whose successful development of the historic Town Range complex has enhanced the Rock’s architectural heritage – has launched a £12 million luxury development on the Lathbury Barracks site. It will offer 20 apartments and two penthouses at prices which range from £300,000 for a single-bedroom home on one of the lower of six floors to close to £1 million for a penthouse flat. The largest apartments have a floor space of 170 sq.m. and a further 60 sq.m. of balcony.

“There is no sign of a let up in demand and – even before we actively started to market the new development Clifftop House, we had a string of enquiries from would-be buyers,” Sharrock said.

To be built on the site of the old Junior Ranks’ Club at the old Lathbury Barracks, each of the 20 luxury apartments and two penthouses will be allotted garage space for two cars in the sub-basement parking area and there will also be storage rooms in the basement of the six-storey block.

“The unique position of the site, with its panoramic and commanding views of Africa and Spain have clearly sparked considerable interest,” he added. “Residents will also enjoy the use of a ‘rock basin’ swimming pool with stunning views and an ‘infinity edge’ …where the water appears to flow permanently into space.”

Sharrock Shand acquired the former MoD property by public tender for an undisclosed sum a year ago, and obtained final planning permission recently. Work has already begun on preparing the site and demolition of the old double-storey Junior Ranks’ Club will begin soon. The project is expected to be completed and ready for the first occupants to move in by the middle of next year.

All of the main facades of the apartments in the Elegant Homes “Sails” project near Queensway Quay are south facing and tiered to the west to provide maximum terrace space. Terraces range from a minimum of 30 sq.m. to a substantial 100 sq.m., Evans tells me. Prices range from £580,000 to £825,000.

At a special service in the King’s Chapel in February, eight Gibraltarians who have served with or supported the Rock’s St John Ambulance Brigade were inducted as confreres at various levels in the Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem.

As officio patron of the Brigade in Gibraltar and the Queen’s representative, the Governor Sir Francis Richards officiated at the ceremony along with two senior members of the Order – John Strachan, a Deputy Lord Prior, and Rear Admiral Andrew Gough CB – who flew to Gibraltar for the occasion, described as “the most significant event of its type ever staged by St John in Gibraltar”.

Of the eight “postulants” two were knighted, one was admitted as a Commander of the Order, two as Officers (or “Brothers) and three as serving brothers. The eight are Leslie Edmonds, Joseph Chiara (knights), Nigel Pardo (Commander) Albert Mena, Lt Col. Dennis Duarte (officers) and Guy Stagnetto Jnr, Ernest Lima and Richard Buttigieg who will become Serving Brothers of the Order.

Following a restructuring of the Ibex Group Richard Hill has been appointed managing director of Ibex Insurance Services; David Whitmore is managing director of Iberian Expatriate Agencia de Suscripción S.L. (Iberian Claims Services); and Lowri Madoc is appointed as group marketing director. The three are pictured (below) with the group’s chairman and CEO John Harrison

In addition, Yvette Burnett, claims manager, has been appointed as associate director of Iberian Claims Services, which has relocated to new offices in Sotogrande. Under Whitmore’s guidance it will expand its claims handling services to other non-Spanish insurance companies and Lloyd’s syndicates who transact insurance business in Spain and Portugal, the group’s MD John Harrison told B2B.

The company was also in the process of applying for authorisation from the Spanish regulators as a ‘Green Card and 4th European Directive Representative’, Harrison said.