Latest news with #ColonsaySmokery
Fox News
10-05-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Man offering free smoked salmon business to right couple with 'entrepreneurial spirit'
A man who runs a food business on a Scottish island has a tantalizing offer for the right couple. He's planning to give the entity away for free to someone looking to move to the area long term — all part of a desire to help protect his community's future, he said. Richard Irvine, 65, founded his smokery about three years ago, said news agency SWNS, after first "falling in love" with the Hebridean island in the 1980s when he and his wife honeymooned there. His business, Colonsay Smokery, supplies smoked salmon to the shop as well as to local restaurants and venues off the island. The tightknit community has just 120 residents or so — and Irvine wants to hand the business over to a young couple who plan to stay and help contribute to building up the area. He said he wants to help boost the local and school populations however he can. "Attracting younger people to live here is a constant driver for island efforts," he said, SWNS reported, as the current population is growing older. "Many of my peers on the island have devoted their skills and time in a voluntary capacity to help develop the island economy … [They've aimed] to increase the amount of affordable accommodation, which is great," he said. "Call it a desire to help an island I love." "But housing is only one side of the island's problems. Economic development – jobs – is the other. That's where I thought I could add value." He said he wants to "pass this business and the opportunity it presents on to someone who has the desire to run and grow a business, but perhaps is missing the initial capital to get it set up. Call it putting back, call it boomer guilt — call it just a desire to help an island I love," he added. "My vision is to find a young couple, possibly with a young family, who'd like to make it their home [and] need a way of earning a living." Irvine founded the smokery after retiring from a career as a brand consultant, he said. "I moved here after retiring early from a career that encompassed building, working as a chef, commercial writing and running a successful design and brand consultancy," he said. "I did so as we've [vacationed] here for almost 40 years since I took my wife here on our honeymoon." The couple originally planned to buy a plot and build a home on Colonsay, but realized they needed a place to stay during the process. Within months, they found and purchased a house with sea views. While his wife stayed on the mainland with their son, Irvine took on the task of renovating their new island home. It was complete by the "end of the pandemic," he said. He also "needed a project to keep me busy," he said. "I conceived the idea of creating a business that would benefit the island that I love and that I could hand over to someone to encourage them to relocate here." The ideal candidates would have an "entrepreneurial spirit," he said. The process of smoking salmon takes five days. It includes fileting and curing the fish in salt, before it is dried, smoked and left to mature, the BBC noted. It is then sliced and packed before being sold. Irvine said he will mentor prospective owners for three months, he said. "I'll mentor and teach them for three months as a handover if they need it … The only thing I will do is retain a form of 'golden share' to ensure they keep the business going, and hopefully growing, for five years." For more Lifestyle articles, visit He said that ideally, he's hoping to find a family who would appreciate the close-knit nature of Colonsay's tiny primary school, and the opportunity to swap a small city flat for a larger, more affordable home just minutes from work, as SWNS reported. "If you think you might be that couple – write to me telling me why," he said.
Indian Express
09-05-2025
- Indian Express
What applicants for a job on the Scottish isle of Colonsay must remember
Is there anything more thrilling and romantic than living on an island? The multitudes from around the world currently applying for a position on the Scottish isle of Colonsay would likely agree that nothing beats it. They are, after all, clamouring to take over the Colonsay Smokery, ownership of which is being offered for free by Richard Irvine, the current proprietor who wishes to move back to the mainland. Irvine, who set up his fish smoking business two-and-a-half years ago, reports that recent coverage of his offer has brought in such an avalanche of applications that it will be midsummer before he is able to make a choice. Not that it's hard to see the appeal of the Hebridean island: About 10 miles long and two miles wide, Colonsay has an undeniable charm of the rocky, wind-blown variety. Home to several colonies of seabirds, seals, otters and 125 human beings, with a tiny primary school, one hotel, a general store and a post office, the island's sandy beaches, craggy cliffs and thick, green woods retain an unspoiled beauty that is getting harder to find elsewhere. In a world teetering on the brink of chaos, it is not surprising that those who feel overwhelmed might view this island — where, in 2012, its first-ever burglar was stranded for two days because the ferry to the mainland didn't come — as a much-needed refuge. But remoteness and isolation are only temporary salves, and it takes very little for a refuge to turn into a holding cell. Those spoiled by modern conveniences like fully equipped hospitals, libraries, cinemas, museums and malls might find that island life has its fair share of downsides, primary among them being the sight of the same 125 people every single day. Because paradise might be an island, but hell is other people.
The Independent
06-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Island business owner wants to give his firm away for free
Richard Irvine, the owner of Colonsay Smokery on the remote Scottish island of Colonsay, is giving his business away for free. His goal is to attract a younger family to the island to boost its dwindling population and the local school's enrollment, which currently stands at four pupils. Mr Irvine, 65, hopes the new owners will have an "entrepreneurial spirit" and contribute to the island's community. He plans to mentor the chosen family for three months and may retain some decision-making power to ensure the business remains on the island. Colonsay, with a population of 120, faces challenges due to its ageing demographic and remote location.
Daily Record
06-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Business on remote Scottish island with only 120 residents being given away for free
Richard Irvine said he wants to support the local community and help in tackling the island's population problems A business on a remote Scottish island is being given away for free by its founder - but there's a catch. Fish smoker Richard Irvine is looking to pass on his thriving company but wants whoever takes over to move to the isle and stay. Richard, 65, set up the Colonsay Smokery in the Inner Hebrides after falling in love with the island decades ago. Now, he wants to hand the business over to a family who will settle on the island long-term. The business owner hopes the move can support the local community and help reverse the island's ageing population. 'I want to keep this for the island,' Richard told BBC Scotland. Colonsay, located off Scotland's west coast near Jura, Islay, and Mull, is home to around 120 people. Like many small Scottish islands, it faces the ongoing challenge of depopulation. The island has a shop, a bookshop and a gallery, but retirees make up a large proportion of residents and fewer and fewer young families are living there. Richard first visited Colonsay in the 1980s, honeymooning there with his wife. The couple have returned every year since. Although he currently divides his time between the island and his home in Midlothian, Colonsay holds a permanent place in his heart. After taking early retirement from a career in brand consultancy, Richard originally planned to build a home on Colonsay. But he soon became involved in launching a smokehouse, a business that has now been up and running for two-and-a-half years. Colonsay Smokery supplies smoked salmon to the island's shop and restaurants, as well as to customers off the island. The salmon is filleted, cured in salt, dried, smoked, matured, sliced and packed over a five-day process. Now, Richard says he's ready to hand over the reins, for free, to the right candidate. Ideally, he's looking for someone with a strong interest in food and the drive to take the business further. He said the opportunity would be perfect for a couple, especially if one person can work remotely, or for a young family to help increase the school roll, which currently stands at just four pupils. Richard said: 'It'll all be a matter of trust, but what I don't want is to hand this over and in six months for them to sell up. I want to keep this for the island.' To safeguard the future of the smokery, he's considering retaining a 'golden share', which would allow him to veto any decision to sell the business. Aside from that, he wants to step away entirely and let new owners take it forward. He's also offering to mentor whoever takes on the business for three months to ensure a smooth transition. He hopes the next owners will build on his work by growing the business and expanding its online presence. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Richard added: 'The ideal candidate would be someone with entrepreneurial spirit and an interest in food.' While some affordable housing has recently been built on the island, Richard said opportunity, or the lack of it, remains one of the biggest challenges when it comes to encouraging new residents to stay. He hopes that passing on his smokery will not only allow him to enjoy more of the island life he cherishes but also contribute to securing Colonsay's future for generations to come.
The National
05-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Scottish island business offered for free to young family
Richard Irvine, who is now 65, founded and runs the Colonsay Smokery on the Hebridean island of the same name. He told the BBC that he was looking to hand it over to a family looking to move to Colonsay in hopes of boosting the local population and school roll. Irvine said: 'I've been coming to Colonsay for 40 years, and it's an island that I really love. 'As we all know, the islands suffer disproportionately from an ageing population as well as housing shortage, etc, etc. But housing is only one of the one side of the island's problem. READ MORE: How successful are Donald Trump's Scottish businesses? We opened the books 'The reason there's an ageing population is the only people who come here are retirees because it's such a lovely place to live. So what we need on the islands are jobs. 'I've spent my life as a sort of – somebody described me the other day as a serial entrepreneur, but I think that's far too grand – but basically, I haven't had a boss for 40 years. I've just been a serial business creator. 'So when I found myself with two or three years spare, I thought I should set up a business that might be able to help in the attraction of a young family to come and live on the island.' Irvine said the Colonsay Smokery, which says it produces smoked salmon 'the old-fashioned way – entirely by hand', had been set up with the help of fish farming giant Mowi, which has had operations on the island since 2015. Irvine said Colonsay had 125 residents, 10 of whom were employed by the Norwegian seafood company. He told the BBC he was 'definitely not' offering someone a job, but the chance to build the business further. The smokery focuses on smoked salmon, a classic Scottish product (Image: Pixabay) 'I only do it three days a week and I'm making, I could scrape by on the earnings from three days a week – but with a little bit of work and a full-time entrepreneurial spirit attached to that work, somebody could make a really good living and a very sustainable life on the island here.' Irvine added: 'I just think that there must be a couple out there who like the idea of selling, you know, a two-bed flat in any major city in the UK would buy you a three- or four-bedroom house on this island, and a wholly different kind of lifestyle.' Irvine, a former brand consultant, splits his time between Midlothian and Colonsay. He set up Colonsay Smokery almost three years ago. He told the BBC that he will mentor prospective owners for three months and may keep a 'golden share' in the business to prevent a new owner from selling it. "I'm not sure whether I'll do it," he said.
