The £260m takeover this summer of CI Traders, the Channel Islands’ largest company, by a private equity group led by Duke Street Capital and Europa Capital, raised fears of redundancies and asset-stripping in Jersey.

CI Traders, which includes everything from supermarkets and pubs to bakeries and retail, employs 3,500 islanders and they feared the worst when Sandpiper CI, as the acquiring company is called, announced 30 redundancies within weeks. The group’s two hotels were then put up for sale, and there were rumours that its 80 pubs were to be sold off. It looked as if Sandpiper intended to carve up the business and take its profit as quickly as possible.