The verdict in three sentences
For a commercial property manager handling offices, retail and mixed-use buildings in Gibraltar, the right supplier is the one who can keep your availability schedule current in English and Spanish, not necessarily the one two streets from Main Street. A remote studio such as Kolonell covers a bilingual site with Premium (the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote) at £6,900, delivered in 3 to 4 weeks, provided you budget a local photographer and a native Spanish reviewer. A Gibraltar agency, often £6,000 to £16,000, remains preferable if your institutional owners require on-site meetings, supplier onboarding or a weekly content update service.
Which criteria really matter for a commercial property manager?
In commercial property the website serves prospective occupiers first (firms looking for offices, retailers looking for a shopfront) and then the owners judging how professional you are. Gibraltar adds two twists: a compact market where reputation travels fast, and a large cross-border workforce living in Spain who are happy to read in Spanish.
| Criterion | What it means for commercial property in Gibraltar | Local agency | Remote studio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time zone | Gibraltar runs on Central European Time, like Spain | Same | Project manager reachable in your time zone |
| Visits and meetings | Owner committees, building walk-throughs | Easy and frequent | Video calls, rare trips |
| Languages | English for institutions, Spanish for some occupiers and staff | Often bilingual | Native English copy, Spanish review by a third party |
| Photo and video of units | Facades, office floors, shopfronts | Crew on site | Local photographer (third-party) |
| Domain and code ownership | To be set in the contract | Varies by agency | Varies by contract, insist on it |
| Price for the scope | Unit schedule, floor plans, maintenance requests | Higher | Fixed grid |
| Timeline | Launch ahead of a letting campaign | 8 to 14 weeks | 3 to 4 weeks |
What does each option cost in 2026, and over 3 years?
2026 ballpark, built from typical agency quotes and public agency rate pages, not a survey: Gibraltar freelancer £2,000 to £5,000; Gibraltar agency £6,000 to £16,000; bilingual Costa del Sol agency roughly £4,000 to £12,000 (quoted in EUR, approximate conversion); UK agency £7,000 to £20,000. Kolonell's grid is fixed: Starter £2,300, Growth £3,900, Premium £6,900.
Over 3 years, the useful comparison adds review, photography and maintenance:
| Cost line over 3 years | Gibraltar agency (ballpark) | Kolonell Premium + third parties |
|---|---|---|
| Bilingual English and Spanish build | £10,000 to £18,000 | £6,900 |
| Native Spanish review | often included | £400 to £800 (independent translator) |
| Unit photography | £800 to £2,000 (often subcontracted) | £800 to £2,000 (local photographer) |
| Support, months 1 to 3 | often included | included |
| Maintenance, months 4 to 36 (market assumption, £90 a month) | £2,970 | £2,970 (Kolonell maintenance on quote) |
| Total over 3 years | £13,770 to £22,970 | £11,070 to £12,670 |
The maintenance line is a market assumption applied to both columns, not a Kolonell price. Integrations (management software, tenant portal, listing syndication) are on quote either way. The full scope is set out on our international websites page.
When is a Gibraltar agency the better choice?
It clearly wins in four situations: your clients are funds or family offices that require supplier onboarding and meetings in their offices; you want a team to update the unit schedule for you every week; you are letting a new building with repeated filmed tours; you want one point of contact for brochures, "To Let" boards and the website. A remote studio is enough when someone on your team can update availability themselves and the project fits a clear scope.
Require these on the site, whoever builds it: a filterable unit schedule (size, use, floor, availability), downloadable floor plans, a clear page on service charges and fees, an occupier maintenance form with an urgency level, a link to your owner or tenant area (integration on quote) and a viewing request form.
Local frame: Gibraltar applies the Gibraltar GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2004, supervised by the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority. A privacy notice, consent for non-essential cookies and retention periods for enquiries should be planned from the wireframe stage. Aim for WCAG 2.2 AA on accessibility, PDF floor plans included. This is not legal advice.
Mini case study
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Illustrative example: Marisa Ocaña runs "Rock Commercial Estates", a fictional firm managing 22 units in Gibraltar (14 office floors, 6 retail units, 2 mixed-use buildings). She receives a hypothetical local agency quote of £14,000 for a bilingual site, photography included.
Studio option: Premium at £6,900, Spanish review by an independent translator at £600, local photographer at £1,200. Add the same maintenance assumption of £2,970 (33 months at £90) to both. Agency: £14,000 + £2,970 = £16,970. Studio: £6,900 + £600 + £1,200 + £2,970 = £11,670. Three-year gap: £5,300. Marisa picks the studio because her assistant already updates availability every Monday; had that not been the case, the agency and its update service would have justified the gap.
FAQ
Do we really need a Spanish version in Gibraltar?
Not always, but a large share of the workforce crosses from Spain every day and some retailers are Spanish. If you go ahead, plan for Premium at £6,900 plus £400 to £800 of native review by a third party.
Can a remote studio handle the unit schedule?
Yes, the schedule ships with a simple admin interface. Allow 10 to 15 minutes a week to keep it current in-house.
How long does a launch take?
3 to 4 weeks at Kolonell once content is approved, against a typical 8 to 14 weeks for a local agency. The real timeline mostly depends on when the photos are ready.
Who should hold the domain and hosting?
Your company, from day one, with admin access. Write into the contract a full handover of access and files within 5 working days if you change supplier.
What happens after the 3 included months of support?
Kolonell maintenance is then on quote. As a ballpark, market plans sit between £60 and £150 a month.
Let's scope your project. A bilingual commercial property site with a unit schedule, floor plans and maintenance requests, from £3,900 to £6,900 depending on languages, delivered in 3 to 4 weeks. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.