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.

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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.

"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."

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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."

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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. 

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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."

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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.