'No bites' from equity release lenders in Guernsey

Financial experts say there has been "no interest" from providers to offer a type of mortgage that allows older homeowners to access wealth tied into their property.

Equity Release Mortgages (ERMs) have been suggested by the States of Guernsey as way of helping the island's ageing population pay for improvements to their homes.

The States had agreed on the product's introduction, which was the culmination of years of consultation and regulatory discussion.

Some elderly islanders say they would like to utilise the mortgage but no lenders have yet offered the service, prompting criticism about how worthwhile the process has been.

The most common type of equity release are "lifetime mortgages", where homeowners take out a mortgage against their property value.

Interest rates are applied to the value of the loan against the home.

The debt will then be repaid when the property is sold or following the homeowner's death.

In the UK, the the Equity Release Council said the market grew by 11% in 2025, with total lending reaching £2.57bn.

Pierre Blampied, managing director of mortgage broker SPF, said he "can't see any entrance at all" for ERM providers in Guernsey.

"We've had no bites at all at any lender or insurance company", he said.

"They can't just use the product that they offer in the UK and say, we'll use that. They would have to rewrite the whole terms and conditions for our market.

"Our market is a relatively small village in the UK, if you combine Guernsey and Jersey. It's just not worth their time and effort."

The States debate and consultation on the law was "a waste of time", according to Blampied.

He said: "They've regulated something that doesn't exist so why would you bother?"

Joan Anderson, who is a member of charity Age Concern which supports older people in Guernsey, said she would use an ERM to purchase a stairlift in her home.

"I'm managing the stairs at the moment very slow", she said.

"I don't want to sort of go head over heels and do flashy things, it's just something small that's more necessary."

Anderson said she felt in terms of States priorities, "the old pensioners are left at the end".

"I just want to stay in my own home while I can, and look out to my own garden."

Older homeowners in the UK took £636m of wealth from their property in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the Equity Release Council.

Lindsay de Sausmarez, President of the Policy and Resources Committee, said "there is a lot of demand from people" in Guernsey who could improve their quality of life by using ERMs.

"As government we've got no guarantee and we certainly can't require private organisations to come forward with particular products, what we can say is we've created a framework that enables that to happen," she said.

"There does seem to be some appetite because there is certainly a lot of consumer demand."

Kelly Melville-Kelly, deputy chief executive of the Equity Release Council - which supported the development of Guernsey's ERM regulation said it was working on a potential solution with a "Channel Island provider who has this very much front and centre".

"Market conditions have made it a little bit tricky so far this year, but we're definitely seeing some appetite from within the Channel Islands," she said.

Melville-Kelly suggested more publicity about how important equity release is in Guernsey might even "push it further up the agenda".

Michelle Le Clerc, who was president of the Employment and Social Security Committee between 2016 and 2020, said it "was about time" ERMs were available in Guernsey.

"I am disappointed to hear that potentially there will not be the local providers", Le Clerc said.

"We've come across this time and time again.

"We expect that there'll be a lot of uptake from providers... when the reality is that there aren't the people willing to do that."

Le Clerc believed the States might have to step in.

"It may have to be for specific purposes such as just home improvements to enable people to stay in their homes that bit longer," she said.

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