Billionaire bought a dying Scottish island for $2.2m and spent $135m reviving it
How a billionaire bought a $2.2 million island and turned it into a $135 million revival project More than 50 buildings have been restored More
How a billionaire bought a $2.2 million island and turned it into a $135 million revival project More than 50 buildings have been restored More than 100,000 trees have been planted Traditional Scottish crafts are being revived New community spaces are changing the island The island now welcomes public-service workers The revival has created jobs in the Highlands The project has expanded beyond the island Tanera is now part of a charitable trust From a declining island to a living community When billionaire hedge fund manager Ian Wace bought Tanera Mòr in Scotland's remote Summer Isles in 2017, the 800-acre island had little resemblance to the thriving community it had once been. Its historic buildings had fallen into disrepair, its population had dwindled and much of the land had become overgrown. Wace paid about £1.7 million for the island, equivalent to roughly $2.2 million at the time, but instead of turning it into a private luxury retreat, he began a vast regeneration project. The initiative has since involved around £100 million, or about $135 million, and includes restoring buildings, planting more than 100,000 trees, reviving traditional crafts, rebuilding farmland and creating new communal spaces. The project is also designed to support the wider Scottish Highlands community.Tanera Mòr is the largest of Scotland's Summer Isles, located off the country's north-west coast near the Coigach peninsula. Wace first saw the island for sale in 2013 but did not purchase it immediately, and it remained on the market for several years before he eventually bought it in 2017. According to the Financial Times, Wace returned to the island and felt it was "dying", but instead of viewing its decline as irreversible, he saw an opportunity to rebuild it while preserving its history and natural landscape.The project has since grown into a roughly £100 million regeneration effort covering buildings, infrastructure, environmental restoration, employment and community initiatives.Tanera has a history stretching back centuries and was once an important centre of Scotland's herring industry.
Its herring station dates to 1784, when the island became a base for processing and exporting fish, and at the height of its activity around 120 people worked there. However, the fishing industry eventually declined, while migration, economic changes and wider historical events further reduced the island's population. Over time, many buildings were abandoned and the community that had once supported the island disappeared, leaving Tanera with a shrinking population and a landscape that increasingly required investment and restoration.A major part of the regeneration has involved bringing Tanera's neglected buildings back into use. According to the island's own records, more than 50 buildings have been restored, including historic cottages and other structures that had fallen into disrepair. Rather than replacing the island's character with large modern developments, the project has attempted to retain and restore existing structures while adapting them for modern use. The regeneration has also created roughly 4.5 miles of roads, along with paths and other infrastructure needed to reconnect different parts of the island and support the growing number of people working and staying there.The transformation has also extended across Tanera's natural landscape, with the project reporting that more than 100,000 trees have been planted as part of efforts to restore woodland and expand habitats. The restoration programme has included eight ponds and the planting of hundreds of native aquatic plants, creating around 1.5 million litres of freshwater pond habitat. About 28 acres of historic agricultural land have also been reclaimed, while old orchards, pastures and other areas of the island are being restored. The wider objective is to rebuild habitats while making the island's land more productive and resilient.The regeneration project has also attempted to bring back traditional skills associated with the region. Two historic herring luggers, the Clan Gordon and St Vincent, were acquired and restored, with Tanera saying local boatyards contributed around 16,000 hours of skilled work to the vessels.
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