Work to transform the former Isle of Man Bank in Onchan is nearing completion, two years after the building was bought.

Peter and Aisha Slinger bought the Main Road building after the bank’s closure in 2015.

Mr Slinger says the work has been hard but also a ’labour of love’.

The redevelopment they have undertaken has seen the bank transformed into a new restaurant called Bonds Ltd, which hints towards its banking past. It has also retained its distinct character with the builders reusing and maintaining some of its original features.

The central part of the work has been changing the banking hall into a restaurant. However Peter said that they were keen to implement as much of the banking history into the design as possible.

He said: ’The ceiling is actually the original from when it was built by Isle of Man Bank in 1933. In later years, the bank added a false ceiling but we’ve removed that and gone back to how it would’ve looked when it was new.

’We’ve also decided to keep the vault, with its original Chubbs door, which will be behind the bar and will be used to store the wine in for our restaurant.

’The restaurant won’t be a specialist Indian or Chinese one. We plan to have a wide menu of good quality, locally-produced food.’

The location of the toilets is not usually an exciting part of a building. However, when they go downstairs, patrons will be able to see the two other vault doors that have been retained, one of which will be used as the entrance to the beer cellar and the other a storage room for the restaurant.

The restaurant itself will have an art deco vibe to it.

Aside from the restaurant, the Slingers have also added a new wing to either side of the building. They include two retail units, one of which will be a cafe serving what Peter called ’organic healthy food’ made by the restaurant’s chef.

There are also four flats.

The flats include what was once the former bank manager’s residence.

It dates back to the building’s early days as the village’s branch of the Isle of Man Bank when managers lived above the shop.

Peter said the work had been difficult but praised the job done by contractors to achieve the high quality they set out to achieve.

He added: ’Safety Net who oversaw the project, J and J builders who did the foundation work, Ellis Brown the architects and Mac Lo Construction have all done brilliantly to bring it to life.

’It hasn’t been easy. It has required a lot of hard work and dedication to do a project like this from the planning application through to completion but it has also been so rewarding to bring a disused building back into life like this. It’s been a real labour of love.’

The restaurant is expected to open in about six weeks’ time.