A retired entrepreneur has donated £1 million to Hospice Isle of Man.

Ivan Soulsbury, who lives locally, gifted the money after hearing the current challenges around the charity’s financial position.

The former entrepreneur became aware of the need for support upon reading the reports in late December 2022 which described the financial challenges that the hospice was facing, and Mr Soulsbury decided that he had to act and do something proactive to help.

Following a number of meetings with Hospice leaders, and much consideration, he has made an extraordinary and immensely generous gift of £1 million.

Ivan’s hope now is for other independently wealthy individuals on the island and to all corporate organisations to rally behind the hospice as it recovers from a challenging period.

Mr Soulsbury said: ‘I recognised that Hospice Isle of Man is in need of urgent and immediate funding to help secure its future and ensure our island continues to benefit from a world class organisation that provides such a range of services to patients and families not only at end of life but also from the point of a terminal diagnosis.

‘We are truly fortunate as a small community to have a resource such as Hospice Isle of Man.’

Ivan Soulsbury has a history of giving generous gifts to charities,.

He donated £300,000 to the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Isle of Man (HBOT IOM) in May last year after reading about its closure whilst fundraising took place in our newspaper.

HBT IOM is a charity aiming to raise the awareness of the benefits of hyperbaric therapy and to raise funds to keep the local facility in operation.

The donation allowed the charity to move ahead quickly into its second phase of construction in relation to its capital project.

The hospice recently launched its ‘40-4-40’ initiative, aiming to raise money for the charity while also reinforcing its relationship with the Manx community.

Organised by chief executive John Knight, it is designed to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of the formation of the Hospice in the island.

Mr Knight said the donation from Mr Soulsbury could be the start of something even bigger for Hospice.

He said: ‘Whilst this is clearly an incredibly generous gift it is also an opportunity to extend its impact even further as Ivan is open minded about his funds being matched by others.

‘Whilst we are marking 40 years of palliative care provided to the community, we are also striving to map out the coming 40 years and ensure Hospice remains the core provider of palliative and end of life care on island.

‘I would appeal to anyone interested in matching even a part of Ivan’s gift, to get in touch and discuss how they can help the ongoing recovery of Hospice care for the community.’