Barclays reopening Sark hotels

New Chief Pleas members said the news meant the island could move on

Hotels owned by the Barclay brothers in Sark have been reopened, a spokesman for the brothers says.

Kevin Delaney said three hotels had reopened and that other businesses were likely to re-open in January.

The tycoon brothers closed all their businesses after the island held its historic first elections this month.

The move came after the majority of candidates they had backed for Sark's new 28-member Chief Pleas failed to win seats in the parliament.

'Little dispute'

The millionaire Barclay twins announced they were withdrawing their business interests in Sark on 11 December, a day after the island's first election to choose a democratic government for nearly 450 years.

As a result, a number of shops, hotels and other firms were closed, resulting in the loss of up to 100 jobs.

The news brought tens of thousands of pounds in donations from Sark's neighbouring islands.

Sark's new, wholly elected Chief Pleas is to be installed on 9 January 2009.

Barclay brothers spokesman Kevin Delaney said other shops and cafes were likely re-open in the new year.

Conseiller Elect Tony Ventress, one of the newly-elected members of Sark's Chief Pleas, said the news meant the island could start to move on.

He said: "Whenever we do have a little dispute, we always managed to settle things in a friendly way, eventually."