SARK’S La Seigneurie has a new tenant, it has been confirmed.

David Synnott has acknowledged that he and his wife have signed a lease to occupy the manor house until the end of October 2019.

The 68-year-old has agreed with Seigneur Michael Beaumont that rent will be in the form of money spent on renovating the property. Mr Beaumont recently moved from La Seigneurie to a more manageable home due to his age and ill-health.

Mr Synnott said the seigneur’s eldest son, Christopher, would one day take on the role and move into La Seigneurie. Mr Beaumont junior currently lives in the UK and does not want to return to Sark until he reaches retirement age.

‘Under these circumstances my wife and I have been offered and agreed to take a lease on the house as joint tenants until the end of October 2019, with no right to sub-let the house or to assign or extend our lease, much less to buy the house,’ Mr Synnott said.

‘In agreeing to the rent being paid in the form of renovations, the seigneur is effectively making a large and generous donation to his successor who will benefit from the work which I pay for, while the seigneur himself will benefit little, if at all, from the terms of the lease.’

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