A small business owner on a remote Scottish island has spent years building his enterprise – but now he wants to give it all away for free.
Richard Irvine founded and runs the Colonsay Smokery in the Inner Hebridean island of Colonsay, which has a population of just 120 people.
The 65-year-old is now looking for a family with an “entrepreneurial spirit” to take over the firm for free, in a bid to address the ageing population on the island and boost the number of children in the local school – which currently has just four pupils.
Sitting off the west coast of Scotland, near Jura, Islay and Mull, the island has a store, a bookshop and a gallery – but is struggling against depopulation with pensioners making up a significant proportion of the residents.
Supplying smoked salmon to the local shop, restaurants and other businesses outside of the island, Mr Irvine hoped that his smokery would help give back to the island he fell in love with.
“I’ve taught myself a new skill and I seem to be doing quite well at it but the plan has always been to get the business up and running,” he told BBC Scotland.
“Once I’ve got the money that I put in back, I want to give it away to try and entice a young couple to relocate to the island.
"The population is dwindling on the island. We need younger people to staff the ambulance service, the fire service and actually to just become the next generation to run the community.
“If I was 30 years younger it might be the kind of thing I’d like to do. It’s a wonderful lifestyle, it’s a beautiful place to live.”
Mr Irvine, who splits his time between Colonsay and his home in Midlothian, fell in love with the island in the 1980s before bringing his wife for their honeymoon. The couple have returned every year since, according to the BBC.
Formerly a brand consultant, Mr Irvine had hoped to build a permanent home on the island after he took early retirement – before he set up his fish smoking business, which has now been operational for two-and-a-half years.
But finding the perfect candidate may prove difficult given the remote nature of the business and the lack of opportunity for young people on the island.
The salmon smoker hopes to find a couple in which one person can work remotely, if not a family to help boost the population and school roll.
Mr Irvine plans to step back, but not before mentoring the prospective owners for three months on running the business. He may also retain a “golden share” to help him retain decision-making powers and prevent a new owner from selling the business.
“I’m not sure whether I’ll do it,” he told the BBC, adding: “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.”
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