If you’ve ever fancied leaving your job, selling the house and moving to a new life on the Isle of Man, now’s your chance. Biker Mike Powell is selling a bungalow and shop business on the Island – the shop is in Ramsey town centre and the house is just 500 metres from Ramsey Hairpin on the TT Course.

Mike, who is selling the properties on behalf of his late mother-in-law, said: “I wish I was 50 years younger. It’s an ideal opportunity for a retiring couple. The shop is a long-established going concern selling china and glassware as well as IOM and TT merchandise.” He’s asking about £150,000 for the house (a bungalow on a serviced estate for the over 50s) and around £75,000 for the shop as an ongoing business with fittings and stock if required, with an 88-year lease. House and shop are available as one sale or separately. Contact Mike Powell 07887 917466 or email

Jim Freeman, Chair of the BMF, was intrigued but not tempted by the thought of a new life on the Island: “I’m seriously tempted, that’s less than half the cost of a 3 bed semi round here. If you have paid the mortgage off, as a cash buyer, what’s not to like? Well, dare I say it, if you’re in that position, lucky you, there’s a whole cornucopia of alternatives, many of which don’t have the wonderful climate of the IOM. Wonderful if you’re a plant, that is, if you suffer from arthritis, not so much. If you wanted a seriously friendly tax regime, there are plenty of warmer ones. Cyprus for example. Then there’s the racing, unless you have to live with the road closures and so on, it’s easy to be relaxed about it. Still intriguing though. How about 6 months in the Island and 6 months in Cyprus, renting out in the holiday seasons? Trouble is that’s both in the summer… it needs more work! ”

Written by Peter Henshaw

Top image courtesy of Jonathan Camp