Govt has ‘pawned the family silver’ for £300m, GSD says

The Gibraltar Government has mortgaged six government housing estates in return for £300 million in financing and “pawned the family silver” in the process, the GSD has said.

According to the Opposition, those estates are Varyl Begg Estate, Moorish Castle Estate, Laguna Estate, Alameda Estate, Glacis Estate and Mid Harbour Estate, representing a total of 83 buildings.

At a press conference held at GSD headquarters yesterday the Opposition called on the Government to explain why it needed to raise such a large sum of money in this way.

This type of asset-backed financing is done when you cannot borrow just on your own good name, GSD MP Roy Clinton said, highlighting how the Government has in the past borrowed on an unsecured basis.

The GSD further called on the Government to explain what the money will be used for.

However, this prompted a furious reaction from the Government who accused the GSD of misrepresenting the transaction.

In a statement yesterday evening the Government said the tenants of these estates are entirely, 100%, secure.

“No-one's home is at any risk at all.”

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