Imagine looking out of your house and everything you see is yours: no annoying neighbors, no traffic, no one parked outside your door. This is a reality for a handful of people who own a private island around the UK and Ireland.
Last week, Mullagrach, the northernmost island of the Summer Isles archipelago in the Highlands, was put on the market for the bargain price of £500,000. A buyer must pay cash – it’s almost impossible to get a mortgage to buy an island – but for half a million pounds, they’ll become the proud owner of a modest heather-roofed cottage and 89 acres of steep, bird-filled land (complete with an island). 4G).
Only a few islands are currently on the market in the UK and Ireland. Knight Frank’s Tom Stewart-Moore says there are about a dozen available each year.
“Normally it creates a lot of noise,” he says. “But seeing them requires a lot of effort; normally a plane, a rental car, a private charter boat or a helicopter is required.”
Buyers are often individuals such as entrepreneurs or celebrities, and businesses may want to use the islands to host wellness retreats.
“Some people want something special, something they can use a few weeks a year during the summer,” says Stewart-Moore. Some of the more eccentric buyers will have to be “politely persuaded” to build James Bond-style castles on their islands to avoid incurring the wrath of planning authorities, an estate agent says.
For the super-rich, sentimentality and fond memories are justification enough to convince millions of people to buy a private island.
“People buy islands because they go snorkeling there or picnicked there once and think it would be nice to have it,” Stewart-Moore adds. “It’s just like fine art; people like to own things.”
Offers can range from “an £80,000 cluster of trees” to a small property worth millions, says Cameron Ewer, an estate agent at Savills, which currently has three private islands for sale.
“These are tax-efficient assets because they are just land, so they are very attractive from an inheritance tax perspective,” he says. Most of the islands can be given over to farming and therefore transferred free of inheritance tax. According to Vladi Private Islands, their value is appreciating at an average rate of 10 percent per year due to their limited supply.
Stewart-Moore says private islands are often held in families for generations, which is why so few islands come on the market each year. “Small islands may have been separated from larger estates, and the new generation is saying ‘mom and dad, I don’t want an island,'” he adds.
Most buyers are Americans hoping to connect with their Scottish ancestry. “There’s a little misconception that having a nomination automatically gets you a title,” says Ewer. “But it’s not like that. “These people are just looking for a heritage connection.”
How much an island sells for depends largely on what, or whether, the owner can build on it. “You’re not going to spend half a million on an island and sleep in a tent there,” says Farhad Vladi, general manager of Vladi Private Islands.
“You are talking about millions of islands with houses or villas on them, but the number of zoned islands on the market is not very high.”
Local authority planning rules extend to islands, and Vladi says the rule of thumb is that if an island has ruins or a basement of a dwelling, a buyer will have a better chance of getting permission to build what they want. But if the island remains untouched, it will likely remain that way. “There is no law banning construction, but the approach of the Government or the council is that they do not want to allow it,” he says. “They want to protect nature”
“There are workarounds,” he continues. Some island owners are happy to add modern “floating villas” (essentially a house that floats like a barge on the water) rather than spoiling the view. “I sold Johnny Depp an island in the Bahamas and he didn’t touch it,” Vladi says. “He just stayed on his yacht and left the island alone.”
In any case, Vladi says the appeal of owning an island is more existential than simply owning a home. “There is a lot of energy on an island. “It’s like you can feel the water around you,” he says. “It’s like a pharmacy for the soul.”
You can buy private islands in the UK and Ireland now
Torsa, Argyll, Scotland
Offers over £1.5m (via Savills)
Surrounded by “spectacular views of the West Coast and sheltered sailing waters,” the island of Torsa is approximately a half-mile wide and 2 miles long. The £1.5 million price tag is so high because it already has a three-bedroom period farmhouse on it.
The listing claims that Torsa is rare even by private island standards, as it is easily accessible from the Scottish mainland with its sheltered anchorage and anchorage. Savills adds that the stone farm building has “development potential”.
The farmhouse and estate have operated as successful businesses in the past and the island also includes permanent grazing and woodland.
No Man’s Land Castle, Solent, Isle of Wight
Guide price: £1 million (via Savills)
You can own a Victorian island castle for £1 million. The 900 square meter space was first built in 1880. Reports claim that the castle was used in the Second World War to defend the Portsmouth shipyards two miles to the south; Those chosen to govern the region were deliberately chosen because they could not swim. Avoid escape attempts.
Now the castle has been converted into a “self-contained luxury private accommodation” complete with 23 en-suite rooms, crew quarters, numerous bars and restaurants and numerous multi-purpose rooms.
The site is currently used as a hotel and event space, and even has a helipad. “You can buy everything as is and be ready to move straight in,” says Savills.
Spitbank Castle, Solent, Isle of Wight
Guide price: £1 million (via Savills)
Slightly smaller than its counterpart No Man’s Land Fort, Spitbank Fort was first built in 1878 as a forward line of defense against invading ships.
Described as a “magnificent granite island”, Spitbank Fort offers easy access to the entire south coast of Hampshire and Dorset, with the Isle of Wight located just three miles to the south-east. The listing claims it has upper walls reinforced with thick armor plating, “a testament to its resistance to high-explosive shells.”
The castle currently operates as a luxury hotel with nine guest rooms, staff accommodation and event spaces.
Middle Calf Island, Ireland
Price on request (via Vladi Private Islands)
Unlike the islands offered by Savills, Middle Calf Island, located between the West Calf and East Calf Islands off the West Cork coast, offers 64 acres of uninhabited land. The only evidence of human presence on the island are the ruins of four residences and outbuildings; This is good news for a potential buyer hoping to obtain planning permission.
According to Vladi Private Islands, six families lived a self-sufficient life on the island, and in 1835 a school was opened there, which also included students from neighboring communities. About 40 people lived on the island in 1841, and the last family left completely in 1937. The island is now home to a herd of around 25 Kerry Bog ponies that graze year-round.
Shore Island, Ireland
Price on request (via Vladi Private Islands)
At 30 acres, Shore Island is about half the size of Middle Calf Island. Located in the Shannon Estuary (three miles from Shannon airport), the island is known as a good salmon fishing spot and has a small pier for this purpose.
Currently the island is used for cattle grazing, but the listing for Vladi Private Islands claims that it would not be difficult to obtain planning permission to build a house here, as there is evidence that a house was built there in the past.
Sanda Island, Argyll, Scotland
Offers over £2.5 million (via Knight Frank)
If you can afford it and want more acres for your money, then you might be more interested in this group of islands off the coast of the Kintyre Peninsula, 13 miles south of Campeltown. Sanda Island has seven houses, a tavern, a slipway, a lake and beaches. The islands are remote but don’t worry; There is also a helipad.
The buyer will also acquire the neighboring small islands of Sheep and Glunimore for a price tag of £2.5 million. The seven residential properties on Sanda Island can accommodate up to 26 people between them, and all have been renovated by the island’s current owners; There are new shower rooms and underfloor heating.