Rosemary Jane Corlett, of 31 Queen’s Drive, Peel, bought 2 Mourne View, Peel, for £530,000.

It was bought from Geoffrey Wall, by trustee, Michael Kuhlmann Wall, of Solihull, West Midlands, as trustee, and Christine Kuhlmann Sharp, of Derbyshire, as trustee.

Other recent transactions lodged at the General Registry in Douglas are as follows:

KC Foods Limited, whose registered office is situated at 6 and 7 Hills Meadow, Douglas, sold a warehouse at Hills Meadow, Peel Road, Douglas, for £490,000, to P & V Properties Limited, whose registered office is situate at Burleigh Manor, Peel Road, Douglas.

Neil Barry Maddrell and Anne Spencer Maddrell sold 9 Turnberry Avenue, Howstrake Heights, for £415,000, to Ciaran Colm Doherty and Helen Black, both of 19 Church Avenue, Onchan.

Michael Beever and Wendy Beever, of Leeds, and Mount Murray Homes Limited, whose registered office is situate at PO Box 171, Nunnery Mills, Old Castletown Road, Douglas, sold a plot of land, part of Murrays Lakes Estate, Mount Murray, for £357,500, to Giovanni Domenico Tebala, of 122 Fairways, Mount Murray, Santon.

Tony Glassey and Joanne Glassey sold 3 Gorse Croft, Abbeyfields, Onchan, for £312,000, to Colin Dennis Mackie and Victoria Mackie, both of 60 Cooil Drive, Onchan.

Daniel Patrick Kelly sold 5 Westminster Terrace, Douglas, for £300,000, to Iain Kendal Coward and Jayne Nicola Utting, both of Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Samuel Andrew Williams and Sarah Jane Williams sold 38 Ballabrooie Way, Douglas, for £263,000, to Mark Norman Teare and Alexis Claire Teare, of 14 Ballabrooie Way, Douglas.

Kirby Estates Limited, whose registered office is situate at Atholl House, 29-31 Hope Street, Douglas, sold 39 Sprucewood View, Foxdale, for £197,000, to Porscha Michelle Smith, 8 Birch Hill Avenue, Onchan.

Sharon Roberts, of Braeside, Glen Chass, Port St Mary, sold 22 Lakeside Road, Governor’s Hill, Douglas, for £175,000, to Barry Keith Lawson, of 4 Spring Gardens, Douglas.

Denia Investments Limited, whose registered office is situate at 50 Summerhill Road, Onchan, sold Elmtree Workshop, Onchan, for £130,000, to Quay Properties Plc, whose registered office is situate at Quay Chambers, South Quay, Douglas.

John Frederick Eastham, by personal representive, Clare Saxon, of 37 Selbourne Drive, Douglas, as personal representative, sold Greystones, Main Road, Colby, for £115,000, to David Graham Quillin and Judith Challenor, of Cragside, Bradda, Port Erin.

Andrew Harvey Graham, of Poplar Close, Birch Hill, Onchan, and Suzanne Elizabeth Graham, sold Windrush, Hillberry Road, Onchan, for £112,500, to Suzanne Elizabeth Graham.

Christopher Peter Roger Walker, and Pauline Ann Walker, of Flat B, Block 32, Marashen Crescent, Port Erin, sold Moorlands, Four Road, Port St Mary, for £85,000, to Robert David Ryan, of Ballagale House, Surby Mill Road, Port Erin.

Pitdale Limited, whose registered office is situate at 5 Athol Street, Douglas, sold a parcel of land, part of the estate of Mullinaragher, Santon, for £76,000, to Elliott Investments Limited, whose registered office is situate at 16 Stanley Mews, Douglas.

Norman Charles Hathersich, by executor, David Lancelot Moore, of The Raggat, Patrick Road, Patrick, as executor, and David Anderson Moore, of Ballamoar, Patrick, as executor, sold a plot of land abutting on Clenagh Road, Sulby, for £50,000, to Barbara Sheila Waggett, of Newholme, Clenagh Road, Sulby.

John Harris, of Tan-y-Bryn, Ballavolley, Ballaugh, sold Kerromooar Methodist Chapel, for £25,000, to Ian William Wood, of Glion Kerromooar, Lezayre.

Daniel Patrick Kelly sold a garage near Westminster Drive, Douglas, for £12,500, to Iain Kendal Coward and Jayne Nicola Utting, both of Newcastle Upon Tyne.

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We publish details of all house sales unless we receive a written request from the police or probation services.

The inflation rate in the Isle of Man has gone up.

According to the consumer prices index, the island had been going through deflation (where things on average cost less than they did 12 months earlier) since April 2015.

But now the minus sign has been replaced by a plus.

Annual inflation measured by CPI was 1.2 per cent in September, government statisticians say.

People who eat potatoes (up 17.2 per cent), fly on planes (up 11.9 per cent) and drink tea (up 14 per cent) will certainly have noticed the difference.

But other items fell in price. They included poultry (down 7.1 per cent), bacon (13.8 per cent), sugar and preserves (9.5 per cent) and indigestion tablets (10.1 per cent).

The managing director of Citywing has said the air operator will not be affected by Blackpool Airport being on the market.

David Buck said he doesn’t see any impact on the business, which launched its Blackpool service in April 2015 and provides flights twice daily between Blackpool and the Isle of Man.

He said: ‘We are fully aware of it and don’t expect it to affect our business. It could actually lead to a better service as they may put in a new purpose-built terminal.

‘From our perspective it’s business as usual. We have actually grown our numbers this year and in one month grew numbers by 20 per cent.’

Mr Buck added that the company was ‘very happy’ with the support they have received from Blackpool Airport.

Owner Balfour Beatty is to put Blackpool Airport and operating company Squires Gate Airport Operations Ltd back on sale, as part of a ‘continuous review of its investments portfolio’.

The move comes almost two years after Balfour Beatty announced the end of international holiday flights and a temporary closure of the airport after an initial plan to put it up for sale came to nothing.

At the time of the closure in October 2014, Balfour, which bought it in 2008, said the holiday flights were causing losses of £1.5m a year and debts had hit £34m. The airport had been profitable and, in 2007, handled in excess of 500,000 passengers before the recession hit and passenger numbers fell to 223,372 in 2014.

General aviation flights restarted within months of the closure and Citywing returned with commercial flights.

A Balfour Beatty spokesman told the Blackpool Gazette: ‘We have begun very early discussions with a number of organisations regarding the potential sale of Balfour Beatty’s 95 per cent share in Blackpool Airport. Blackpool Council are aware of these early discussions.’

The council owns the other five per cent share.

In a letter seen by the Gazette, Balfour says the airport is currently operating profitably.

A new Costa outlet is set to open in Castletown later this month.

The coffee shop was originally due to open at the Manx National Heritage Castlegate site overlooking the harbour in the spring. It will now open on Friday, October 21.

MNH director Edmund Southworth said: ‘Re-using an historic building in this way is a good example of partnership.

‘We have worked closely with the Fancy a Coffee team and local firm of architects Horncastle Thomas to create a sympathetic but innovative development which is in keeping with this amazing location and will provide much needed facilities for our visitors.

‘I am grateful to our main contractor, JCK, for their work which proved to be technically challenging because of the proximity of the site to the harbour and historic ground conditions.’

He added: ‘Castletown is a great destination and we welcome tens of thousands of people to MNH sites there.

‘This heritage-led regeneration builds on the existing strengths of the town and makes it more sustainable for the future.

‘We are grateful for financial support from the government’s Town and Village Regeneration Fund and from Castletown Commissioners – which has helped the trustees create a new landscaped open space outside the building.

‘We look forward to attracting both visitors and local people to enjoy their heritage.’

The 200-year-old structure is a registered building which has previously served as a military library, a customs office, a police store and latterly as the town’s social security office.

It stands on a structure built to protect Castle Rushen during the English Civil War and is an important archaeological site.

It has undergone full renovation and a new landscaped open space has been created outside.

In July, we reported that the footings of a wall believed to have been part of a mid-17th century defensive platform built against Parliamentary forces during the Civil War had been uncovered.

Telecoms company Sure are set to submit a planning application to install an intenna on a lamppost at Hailwood Avenue in Governor’s Hill.

A public meeting took place at Cronk-y-Berry School on Tuesday and offered people the chance to express any concerns about the antenna.

Sure aims to install the antenna to boost its coverage in the area and had previously written to residents detailing plans to attach a ‘low visual impact antenna’ to a lamppost in the estate.

A Sure spokesman said: ‘We’ve received feedback both for and against the proposed plans from residents who attended the drop-in sessions. The purpose of the drop-in sessions was to discuss the process that Sure has gone through to investigate a number of potential sites in the area and how we have come to the conclusion that the Hailwood Avenue site is the most appropriate site for the new antenna.

‘Both operators in the Isle of Man have hundreds of mobile sites, which include both antennae and masts, in rural and urban locations around the island. ‘Governor’s Hill is geographically challenging as the land forms a “bowl” which makes it very difficult to provide a mobile signal in the area from the outside and therefore requires mobile equipment to be placed within the bowl to improve mobile coverage for residents. The proposed location exceeds international guidelines and industry best practice.’

Sure Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in the Isle of Man, Mike Phillips, said: ‘We have received more than 500 complaints from customers about the mobile phone coverage in Governor’s Hill, including a number of reports of issues with contacting the emergency services, so we’re aiming to improve this for residents.

‘The meeting was a drop-in session and residents spoke with myself and other members of the Sure team about our plans.

‘We outlined the process that our engineering team went through to assess a number of potential sites in the area and why we believe the Hailwood Avenue site is the most appropriate choice.

‘As an active participant in the local community it’s important to us that we engage with residents on matters such as this and that’s why we wanted to give them a number of opportunities to meet us, ahead of us submitting the application.

‘We’d like to thank those residents who have participated in the meetings and shared their views.

‘We’ll be submitting the application to planning shortly and we encourage residents to participate in the public consultation as part of the formal planning process.’

In August a planning application by Manx Telecom to install a mobile telephone mast in Onchan at Hillberry Reservoir was initially approved but then refused after an appeal.

The women’s discussion gets under way over breakfast at 14 North

The spotlight was put on the world of online gambling as seven women working in or closely with the sector gathered for a wide-ranging roundtable discussion.

Round the table were:

Micky Swindale, director, KPMG.

Sandra Skuszka, associate director, KPMG.

Lydia Barbara, head of Pegasus Gaming Solutions (Microgaming).

Donna Crellin, director of treasury, PokerStars.

Liz Aitken, management consultant, Newfield.

Jennifer Houghton, managing director, Annexio.

Susan Biddle, consultant in Commercial Technology dept, Kemp Little LLP

Many issues were raised in the breakfast time discussion at 14 North on the Quay in Douglas, including sexism, the importance of women in the gaming industry and the promotion of women working in the Isle of Man.

The gathering took place just hours after the successful KPMG eGaming Summit at the Villa Marina which drew more than 280 movers and shakers from the world of eGaming.

KPMG director Micky Swindale, who is part of the Athol Street firm’s eGaming team, chaired the meeting.

She began by acknowledging that there were no men in the roundtable and she recognised that on the ‘journey’ to gender parity, male involvement and commitment was needed.

She admitted: ‘I always feel a little bit uncomfortable with women only events because we would not feel comfortable about men only events.

‘But this is about role models and the chance to have an open discussion with women and particularly those that work for operators, as role models.

‘It’s about your experience working in the industry.’

The group agreed that they have no desire to exclude men from the debate and Donna Crellin urged them to look at the Cranfield report ‘Male Middle Management – the Lynchpin to Gender Equality’.

Micky said that while there were reports and statistics for other countries including the UK there was a ‘dearth of real statistics for the Isle of Man.’

She got the ball rolling by referring to a presentation made the previous day at the summit by gaming analyst Simon French. He noted that with the exception of Denise Coates at Bet365 he ‘struggled to think of another female executive of a gaming company’.

‘We are aware that women on boards is an issue not just for the gaming sector - but is it a bigger issue for gaming?’ asked Micky.

Jennifer Houghton, managing director of secondary lottery company Annexio said women working in gaming at a boardroom level might have a way of expressing themselves that ‘may be different to the way a man thinks’.

‘I believe that if you don’t have that gender variety when discussing new subjects, approaching markets and looking at player protection etc, it might not be discussed in the same way if in an all- male environment.

‘I believe it adds diversity to the strategy and structure and by having more women at an executive level it may broaden the approach to new ideas.’

Donna Crellin, director of treasury at PokerStars said: ‘I think there is a difference between having non-executives and executives on boards.’

She pointed to a report called Empowering Productivity – Harnessing the Talents of women in the Financial Services by HM Treasury and Virgin Money, which focused on the need to get more women executives and that was the next challenge, but highlighted that Rational Group, which PokerStars is part of, has 25 per cent female representation on its senior leadership team.

She said: ‘A lot of financial services companies in the UK are signing up to a charter to publish targets and that is an example that we can look to.’

Lydia Barbara of software giant Microgaming said that by not having women in decision making roles you are actually under-serving your market.

She said: ‘There are legitimate business reasons for having women in decision making roles, beyond the fact of fairness.’

Australian Liz Aitken of Newfield, a fast-growing gaming company based in the island, then pointed out: ‘Women gamble as much as men’.

She pointed out when doing some research in the run-up to the roundtable, that she had found that it was surprisingly hard to have a conversation of this nature with CEOs, even those that she trusted not to ‘run for the hills’, about why more women weren’t in the industry. But one perception is that women don’t gamble.

‘And I kind of checked this and that is complete bull. They are operating from a position where they are not even recognising women as a target audience for their products.’

Jennifer Houghton, currently the island’s Business Person of the Year following last November’s Awards for Excellence, said that in the secondary lottery markets ‘we always used to think that it was mostly males’ who were the main customers.

‘But we did some research and found that a high proportion of the players were women. ‘It surprised us and it was an interesting statistic for the UK market. It might of course be different in other countries.’

Donna Crellin of PokerStars pointed out that poker was still male dominated but PokerStars had branched out into sports betting and casino.

Respected gaming lawyer Susan Biddle of the London technology and digital media law firm Kemp Little, suspected traditional sports betting was probably more male dominated but as betting gets into more sports, the demographic changes.

She said: ‘The demographics for bingo and poker are probably completely different.

‘If you don’t represent that on the board then you are missing something.

‘And that is apart from having the different perspectives on board decisions.’

Liz Aitken then brought in the subject of sexism and the way women are portrayed in the industry.

She said: ‘Can I throw something controversial in here?

‘When you go to something like ICE, which is a really big deal [a huge annual gathering for the gaming industry in London] I can tell you that as a woman I get pretty offended when you see a new start-up marketing their product with young women in almost next to nothing. I think to myself ‘‘Is your product such rubbish that you need to stoop to this?’’ ’

The overall consensus around the table was that ICE, and the depiction of women in gambling marketing, is changing but just not quickly enough.

Donna pointed to the importance of discussing this traditional advertising tool. She said the topic came to the fore only recently when a campaign promotion for a product was planned featuring ‘two skimpily dressed women’.

She admitted it created a ‘huge conversation’ which touched upon discussions as to ‘whether this should be the way we are advertised.’

‘It was a heated and very long conversation with different opinions expressed.’

The women agreed it was good that discussions could be held like this in the workplace.

Lydia pointed out there seemed to be fewer sexist adverts like those mentioned in the discussion. They seemed to be becoming less common which was a good thing.

And the women in the roundtable were agreed: ‘Why offend half the population?’

Donna pointed out: ‘We had guys that were equally offended by it.’

‘They thought it was tacky. They probably would not speak up so much but they were talking in their groups.’

Liz said: ‘There is, what I call a wall of shame, at the gym I go to in London.

‘And the trainers put themselves up there [with pictures on the wall]. The males are looking good in their power shirts etc and looking masculine.

‘But the women trainers, they look like they are going for a porno shoot or Pirelli swim suit calendar. And I really took issue with the gym management.

‘It was amazing how many of the young men thought it was wrong too. But they did not feel able to speak up.’ Liz notes that this has now recently changed after nine months of lobbying the management and discussions with trainers.

Lydia said: ‘Before my time at Microgaming, when I worked in Malta there was this sportsbook that decided to do a calendar photo shoot with their senior female managers in sexy poses.

‘And this calendar was distributed to their players.

‘They were selling their women executives as sex symbols to their players, it was appalling.’

This drew gasps from the other women who could not believe what they were hearing.

Micky said she thought that sort of thing could happen in an environment perceived as male dominated, where the women felt pressure to fit in.

‘Some women could almost go to the extreme of thinking: ‘‘I’m offended by nothing, I’m one of the boys, it’s fine, sort of thing’’.

‘And I’ve probably been guilty of some of that myself in the past,’ admitted Micky.

Donna agreed and said that when you ‘go through your career, for me I have looked at my stance on different things and thought: ‘‘Where did that 20-something woman go who challenged the dealing room because they had a meeting in a strip club?’’

‘Where did that person go over the years?’

Now Donna says that her ‘natural rule’ is that if something offends her then you have to speak up.

She said: ‘I don’t think it hurts for women to let people know that there is a line that should not be crossed.’

Jennifer said: ‘It’s nice to be feminine and I think that we are more feminine than we were 30 years ago.

‘I think in some ways being proud of who we are as a gender is good and that we can express ourselves more freely is fantastic, especially in our part of the world.’

Jennifer said she is half Swedish, where 30 per cent of directors are women so there were ‘less of these type of discussions. It’s a very equal society [in Sweden] but it’s been like that since childhood.

‘But my second point is that when it comes to expressing themselves women in general, and there are exceptions, tend to do that more diplomatically.’

She added that a woman tends to be criticised more for speaking out.

This led the women to discuss gender stereotypes.

Liz said: ‘When a man speaks up it’s assertive. When a woman does it she’s aggressive.’

Liz added: ‘It is a little depressing. To speak up on an issue with authority and knowledge only to be told that you are just being aggressive.

Jennifer admitted there could be competitiveness among a lot of women in some parts of the working situation. But she added: ‘We don’t have a problem with it because of our positions.’

She also acknowledged there could be some women ‘who could be difficult with each other. But I’ve not had that experience personally.’

Micky asked: ‘But are we being unfair in our expectations of other women – do we expect a sisterhood, whereas men expect it to be ‘‘every man for himself’’?’

Donna said she is part of a group at work where women could discuss confidential matters and other matters that concern them.

Jennifer said she gets a lot of support from other women in senior positions. And moral support too.

‘I get that from my male friends too but certainly from women who help you to believe in yourself.

‘It gives you confidence to believe in who you are because you have that circle of friends.’

Micky then mentioned the importance of female role models who are peers.

Lawyer Susan mentioned women who tended to gravitate to certain roles: ‘Women I know [in the gambling sector] tend to be on the regulatory and compliance side rather than the executive, operational and particularly creative development side.

‘The men, they will let you in a bit, they will let you do the bit that allows you to be conscientious but not the bit that requires imagination.’

The women were agreed that men tended to be more involved in the creative side, devising the games for eGaming companies.

The panel were asked by Micky: ‘Do you think that is because women in general don’t tend to study IT?’

Liz said she discovered from discussions with other females the perception that women don’t tend to do maths and ‘I was stunned by that.’

And she added that in her experience, there is a perception on the part of recruiters and agencies, that women did not tend to go in for shift work either.

The disparity between men and women in science and technology was certainly a talking point, agreed the women in the roundtable.

Micky said according to the figures from the 2011 census (currently the most recent available, but the 2016 census should be released shortly), the resident employed population in the Isle of Man is 23,000 males and 20,000 females.

‘So it is broadly even but when you look at scientific and technology professionals there are 1,300 of them and 1,122 of those are men.

‘So that tells a story.’

Donna told how she went to a women in the workplace seminar in Westminster last year and the speakers were brilliant and it was recognised that some changes were needed at the education end.

Sandra Skuszka, who works with Micky in KPMG’s eGaming team, said: ‘You gravitated towards what you were good at in school anyway and generally girls gravitated more towards English language rather than maths. I personally went to the maths side.’

Jennifer Houghton said: ‘At university I was the only female studying maths at a senior level and this is going back 30 years.

‘There is a natural inclination for women to go to the arts and English but it is complex.

‘Even in Sweden where there is less of a gender gap the males move more towards IT developers. My brother runs an IT company and the men are the developers.’

Susan added: ‘It’s a journey that a lot of people have had to go on.

‘My mother was at law school and was one of two women in her class of 50

‘It took a generation to bring parity in law schools.’

Susan went on to say that with the way parental leave is structured ‘it is women that have the career break.

‘If you have two or three children over five years you may have missed three out of those five years [at work] and there has been a gap.’

Donna said this was something they had researched at PokerStars – as maternity and paternity leave are out of step with each other.

Jennifer referred to Sweden where there was an organised crèche system that kicks in enabling women with youngsters to go to work.

Susan said: ‘It’s often the case that it’s the women who patch things together and there can be this expectation that women will sort things out, for example if a child is ill. But I think things are changing.’

Micky said she suspected if a man was to announce to his work colleagues: ‘‘Oh, I have to go and look after my sick child.’’, eyebrows might be raised.

‘Whereas a woman would say the same thing and they would say: ‘‘Oh, that’s alright, off you go.’’ So we are creating the stereotype right there.’

Liz said she had one child and felt a lot of pressure to return to work quickly. She returned to work after six weeks feeling that she couldn’t leave it any longer as she would be left behind.

‘I felt I had to go back and be 20 times better than the others and I was just exhausted.’

Micky said that for many male partners at KPMG, globally and locally, their wives don’t work.

But her husband stopped working at the end of last year ‘and it was really interesting to see people’s response to that.

‘Some people questioned him and asked how our marriage was and said things like: ‘‘It can’t be easy for Micky to be the breadwinner.’’

‘Why would that be different to him being the breadwinner?!?

‘All we are doing there is saying : ‘‘Our lives are so busy, let’s structure things differently”. The thing is - if it was the other way round nobody would have batted an eyelid.’

The group, some others of whom had husbands who do not work, agreed that it takes a man with a pretty strong sense of his own identity to cope with that role reversal, even now.

Jennifer said that women do tend to multitask more than men - ‘it’s the way we are wired.’

She added that women seemed to cope better at multitasking.

But this led the lawyer Susan to say: ‘I do wonder about multitasking. I think women are better at it but I do wonder if that is because we have had to be better.

‘Juggling multiple roles, you just have to [multi-task efficiently].’

Sandra said: ‘Things and perceptions are changing.

‘I think the younger men in the office will take time out and share the childcare and the responsibilities.

‘As people come up through the ranks on to boards, then the perceptions will change and certainly childcare will change.’

But Micky said unconscious bias in the boardroom was an issue.

Micky raised the question of whether there should be quotas.

Donna said: ‘Quotas are an emotive issue.’

There was a perception among women that they did not want to be seen as a quota woman.

Susan: ‘There is a space for women only events and women focused events. But as Micky said earlier the men have to come on this journey too and to understand what we are saying.

‘Often the bias women encounter is unconscious, and if you raise it with them [men] they are surprised and mortified.

‘They say: ‘‘Thank you for pointing that out to us. I hadn’t meant it to be like that, I’m so sorry.’’ ’

Liz said: ‘We have to have men come on board to work with us, it doesn’t help if women go into a corner and have a little moanfest.

‘I like picking people’s brains for research purposes. It was interesting to get very strong defensive reactions from men that I trusted and hoped to get sensible conversations with. I did manage to get past this by making it clear that I was just trying to understand rather than make criticism’

Donna said: ‘In our female directors Lean In Circle of women we are now about to invite two senior men to join our circle who represent an area where there are no senior female leaders.

‘We are ready for the next step.

‘You can’t just be in a dark corner.’

The discussion widened to look at the challenges of work in the gaming industry

Jennifer pointed out that there are certain limitations within the industry that they are in.

And it was certainly challenging to work in certain other cultures around the world.

Liz pointed out the different cultures in Korea and Japan for women.

The discussion also turned to networking situations and there was a general question fired from Liz: ‘Who plays golf?’

Susan replied that networking for social events tended to be male dominated or in areas of male interest.

‘That’s where they make connections to move on in their careers.’

Liz replied: ‘Who would spend half a day on an 18-hole golf course? But she added: ‘If I knew the amount of business that would come out of it then probably I would!’

Susan said: ‘If the events are focused on sports and drinking . . . then in the past I’ve heard men say the women can have a makeup evening!!’

Micky told a story of how she went to conferences that had a programme for spouses, which were clearly for ‘wives’.

‘I would say: ‘‘And what about my husband?’’ Will he make jewellery, what will he do?’

Susan: ‘The question is raised: ‘‘How do women network?’’ ’

Donna: ‘Most women have busy lives. They want to go home after work and do what they want to do. Relax with families, go for a run whatever.

‘So it’s a challenging thing if women don’t want to go to dinner or play golf.’

Liz said drinking seemed to be part and parcel of networking in the Isle of Man.

She said: ‘That’s where the deal is going to be done. I love a drink don’t get me wrong, it’s a significant part of the business culture of the Isle of Man that should change for men and women. How can it be healthy?’

Donna said there is a bank ‘where they have recognised not all people want to play 18 holes of golf’ during networking events, and that they have had a really positive response to their different approach to business events.’

Jennifer said the executive dinner scene had changed in the 12 years she has been in the island.

‘It was much more male dominated years ago. Now there’s a good mix of speakers including women.

Micky raised the question of asking how interesting it is that a lot of women tend to end up in compliance and admin roles in eGaming and not operational, and that is as true in trader roles in the gambling industry.

‘I spoke to a woman in a big eGaming operator whose explanation for their lack of women traders was that women were not interested in sports. And that was why they did not work on the trading floor.’

Donna said: ‘We look at things such as gender neutral interview panels, that sort of thing. Things that can influence to get people through the door.’

Sandra asked: ‘Would hours worked make a difference in giving jobs to women?’

This prompted Donna to suggest that ‘slogans such as ‘‘play hard, work hard’’ were not going to attract women generally.’

And Liz said: ‘Women are not going to be interested in working 24/7.’

Susan pointed out: ‘That may only be a perception. Think about nurses, they work the ultimate anti-social hours and yet there has been no problem - nursing has been female dominated for years.’

Then general questions were asked about the culture of the Isle of Man.

Sandra said: ‘In the Isle of Man we have a high rate of employment so the pool is less and maybe that has something to do with it.’

Liz said: ‘I get the feeling of competition in that we are all competing against each other [to attract women staff].’

Jennifer: ‘I think it has to be a generation gap.

‘People of our generation have had to work longer hours and maybe the younger generation are less inclined. For better or worse.

Maybe it is a case of some people saying: ‘‘It’s five o’clock sharp and why am I still sitting here?’’ ’

Susan: ‘The millennials and ‘Generation Y, they see the model we worked by and they don’t want to do that and who is to say they are wrong.’

Donna raised a question about advertisements that specifically ask for women to apply.

Lydia said: ‘Unconscious bias is a real part of recruitment and promotion of women into wider operational roles. There was a McKinsey report in 2011 that pointed out that men are promoted on potential whereas women are promoted on achievement. But I think that achievement in a pigeon-holed role is less likely to result in promotion to broader roles.

‘For example, a man will be more likely to be promoted out of finance or marketing, which tend to be female-dominated, because men are perceived as having potential, whereas the women are left in these roles. That’s sometimes exacerbated when women excel in those roles, as they will be viewed as specialists. It’s a little bit of doomed if you do, doomed if you don’t.’

Susan said: ‘Look back to the toys you were given as a child. I went to a wonderful exhibition of Ladybird illustrations - 50 years of Ladybird books.

‘I went with two male friends and we each gravitated back to the books that we knew when we were children.

‘And I said: ‘‘My goodness. I did not know that Ladybird did books about scientists. I got the history and fairy tales and the boys got the carpentry and the oil refinery. I got shopping with mother and you got helping father with the carpentry.

‘Now if that is the way you are being pushed . . .’

Liz: ‘Compare the statistics from an all girls school and an all boys school. I went to an all girls school and I did maths, physics, biology and chemistry so I never went down that path.’

Sandra pointed out: ‘With the computer generation these days children do have more choice.’

Liz: ‘It would be good to see statistics of whether all girls schools get more choice than mixed etc.’

Jennifer said: ‘Some women have a glass ceiling they create themselves.

‘It’s perceived and they limit themselves while men will take the chance.

‘And sometimes women as a group don’t always do themselves a favour.’

Liz: ‘I found an interesting statistic that shows that in Ghana 55 per cent of entrepreneurs and start up businesses are women.

‘It’s some pathetic figure in the UK but I was fascinated that we are sitting here with all these privileges and education and that women are not making the best of it.’

The women then discussed a recent BBC report on pay rises.

Donna said there was a perception out there that women don’t put themselves up for pay rises. She said the study found that was not true but that women were less likely to get the pay rises.

Lydia said: ‘It’s not just a perception, there have been wide ranging previous studies that show women don’t ask for pay rises.

‘We don’t ask for promotions and we don’t ask for pay rises.

‘We don’t ask to move location. It feels like men are given opportunities denied to women but the reality is that women don’t know they need to ask for them.

‘And it’s very much a reality.’

Donna praised the island’s organisation of International Women’s Day earlier this year.

‘It was amazing and the women involved in it were fantastic.’

Micky said she was ‘blown away by how many women went to that.’

She pointed out the Chamber of Commerce has a female chief executive and a female president. And it’s 50/50 in the chamber members.

‘I do think we do need to be visible and active. That’s how you challenge some of this imposter syndrome or lack of confidence.

‘And we have become well aware of a real lack of statistics in the Isle of Man.’

She said it was clear that some form of measurement of the impact of women in eGaming was needed.

‘It is important to measure the statistics and say: ‘‘This is the benchmark for the Island.’’ ’

Donna said: ‘To move anything like this along you have to have targets. And you have to know where you are.’

Susan said: ‘We’ve touched upon perceptions here - the perception that women don’t gamble etc. We need the statistics, a measurement to say this perception is right or wrong.’

Sandra said: ‘And we have to understand that the Isle of Man is a small place.

Micky replied: ‘If we could have some kind of initiative in the Isle of Man to gather statistics from all the gaming companies. That might then start something more widely.

‘It would be a useful place to start. And I don’t think government are going to tackle it [compiling statistics on women in eGaming] any time soon, given the other tasks facing them.’

Jennifer said: ‘It could cover cultural backgrounds and divisions in departments, that sort of thing.’

Donna said her company’s special group on gender started earlier this year and more than half the workforce now completed training on unconscious bias.

‘It’s training to check all kinds of things. You could choose to do all kinds of different things including gender, race, weight, age, etc.

‘There will be some resistance.’

Donna added: ‘There is a case that the business will do better if there is diversity.

‘You need visible and vocal support from the top and we are lucky in that we have that.’

The women were agreed that the government and gaming regulator welcome eGaming companies with open arms - not something that happens in many other places.

The women agreed to keep in touch and work together to move forward their plans to compile statistics.

As I write I’m on the plane to London, to give a talk about the implications of Brexit for the UK’s IT leaders, with a detour via the guitar shops of Denmark Street where I hope to try and buy another electric guitar, writes Steve Burrows in his latest IT Matters article for Business News.

It’s quite likely that I’ll try it, love it, and then have to order one instead of walking out of the shop with the one I try.

This, any older musician will recognise, is a big no no. Musical instruments are individual, each has their own character, you can play two instruments of the same brand and model and they will feel and sound different.

That used to be very true, but today it is much less so. If I get my new guitar it will have been made through a substantially automated and computer-controlled process.

The neck, fretboard and body will have been machined under computer control to incredible tolerances more commonly associated with the specialist aerospace components made on the island than a wooden musical instrument, meaning that the differences between two instruments of the same model will be too small and subtle for me or most other similarly mediocre players to detect.

I have messed around with guitars since I was 13, and first made my own electric when I was 15 - it was good enough to see me through the next 10 years until I sold it as being too antisocial for my terraced house in Cambridge.

All the love and care I put into making that instrument has been superseded by machines which, I am sure, do a superior job.

Nevertheless it has been a longheld wistful dream that when I retire I might set up a workshop and produce, in low volumes, my own designs of guitar for those musicians seeking something a little different, something with a bit of character.

Each year I get nearer to retirement and the dream slips further away - how can a small business compete with the expensive robotics and relentless consistency of a global manufacturer?

Therein lies one of the major quandaries for Isle of Man businesses in the future - how do we continue to deliver our small scale services and products at a cost and quality that permits us to remain competitive?

technology

I believe the answer lies in technology. If I ever set up my guitar workshop I will need to invest in a handful of small automated woodworking machines instead of the thousands of large machines possessed by a global brand, but those machines will enable me to deliver equivalent consistency and quality. I’ll never have the volume of production to be cost competitive with Fender or Gibson, but I’ll be able to compete based on differentiation as long as my quality and consistency are up to scratch. While the machines will be expensive they will enable me to achieve this.

When I was 15 I shaped my first own-made guitar with chisel, spokeshave, drill and sanding block - it was an artisan product but competitive with the commercial quality of the day. When I am 65 I will need CNC routers and shapers to compete, even though my pipe-dream is to be an artisan again.

The point of this daydream?

We must almost all be technologists now. If we execute a repeatable process to provide a service or create a product we do it better and cheaper with the help of technology, and in many spheres without the assistance of technology we cannot compete at all.

The smallest one-man business on the island may still require a mastery of technology to stay in the game.

Technology is pervasive, without it we can only compete in an environment where nobody else has it either. Like the Arms Race, once you enter into the exploitation of technology you have to continue in order to stay ahead - it has been this way since the earliest pre-historic toolmakers.

Technology evolves and broadens its scope, tasks which could not be performed by machines 20 years ago now cannot be performed to modern expectations of quality without machines. With the assistance of machines I can aspire to match big name manufacturers for consistency and quality, without them I don’t stand a chance.

The same applies to many businesses on the island; in banking and financial services, fiduciary services, eGaming, law, aerospace, retail, agriculture etc. - because the cost of technology has fallen over the years all have affordable opportunities for automation. The majority of businesses do not need a data centre or server room or CNC machines, they can utilise cloud computing services to rent systems by the hour.

It used to be the case that computing was all about productivity, automating tasks to reduce the man-hours involved in them.

Computers were expensive to buy but you didn’t have to pay them much of a salary, a few kilowatts of electricity each month.

access

Now you don’t even have to buy them, almost everyone has access to massive computing power at modest cost, so the productivity advantage has been eroded - computer-assisted productivity is the norm.

There are still marginal productivity gains to be made from automation, and new techniques will emerge to prolong the life of automation as a productivity enhancer, but increasingly the productivity gains to be had from automation are in the domains of larger businesses which can leverage ever-decreasing marginal benefits through their economies of scale.

While the productivity benefits of incremental automation are becoming ever more marginal, the quality benefits are still very much on the upswing. Modern IT is increasingly focused on ensuring reliability and repeatability of products and services. As usual, bigger enterprises are in the lead because they have the talent and cash to be the first to experiment with new techniques, but the quality advantage they gain over smaller businesses is much less durable.

In a large company it is common that very few people understand the business process end to end, so there are very few people who can specify how it should be automated for reliability.

Instead the large company will employ an army of business analysts to discover how it actually does what it does, and another army of systems analysts and developers to recreate its processes in IT systems.

In a small company the directors and senior manager know how the company works, they don’t need the discovery phase, they can simply tell the IT folk how it should be.

Simply, a small organisation can usually implement process automation much more quickly and cheaply than a big company in order to reap the same quality benefits.

Can - but usually doesn’t, and therein lies the problem. Two factors have a fundamental impact on quality; the first is human fallibility - we commonly make mistakes, omit steps in processes, forget that something needs to be done on a specific date etc., we may be 98 per cent reliable, but an automated process is more likely to be 99.99999 per cent reliable.

The second factor is knowledge; if we grow our business then we generally take on extra staff and teach them our processes, but whilst they may be reliable in performing what we have taught them to do they don’t necessarily understand why it must be done the way it is, so any exceptions that we haven’t taught them to deal with may go wrong, and over time they may change and “improve” processes without understanding why we did it the way we did.

These two factors make human-executed processes unreliable however conscientious and hard-working the humans may be. If a process can be automated it will be more reliable - it will be a better quality process which produces a more repeatable customer experience.

Incremental automation represents an opportunity passed over by many smaller businesses, often because it seems like too much effort and cost in return for the small productivity gains it will deliver, but thinking this way is going to miss the point.

reliability

The benefit is in increased reliability, a better quality product or service for the customer. Customers will often tolerate higher prices from smaller suppliers in return for better service or more distinctive goods, they instinctively recognise the economics of production - but they do not easily tolerate lower quality.

The low cost of technology has brought some degree of automation within the reach of most smaller businesses, and to compete on quality we must, as an island of smaller businesses, take advantage of it. Otherwise bigger businesses will take the food from our table by being both cheaper and better.

P.S. Yes, I did try the guitar I wanted, and I’m now waiting for it to be delivered. The quality is superb, much better than the very posh one-off handmade guitar I’ve been playing for the past nine years. My current guitar is unique, my new one is a model used by countless guitarists, but whatever it lack in exclusivity it makes up for in quality.

McDonald’s will open its doors to the public today (Tuesday) following a month-long closure.

The fast food outlet, on Peel Road in Douglas, shut on September 11 in order for refurbishment to take place.

Following its renovation, customers will now be able to place their orders at new kiosks and there will be interactive tablets for customers to play games on and browse the web while they wait for their food.

Planning consent was granted in May for extensions and reconfiguration works to the site including parking layout and kerb lines.

The expansion of the island branch is bucking the global trend.

Last year the fast food giant shut 700 restaurants worldwide as demand dropped.

Chris Corlett, chief executive at the Department of Economic Development, will address Chartered Institute of Marketing members and guests at an event in the island next week.

He will be talking about Vision 2020, co-developed by the Isle of Man Government and the private sector with the aim of giving a clear vision for the island’s economy, particularly its vital export sectors.

Richard Slee, chairman of CIM Isle of Man, said: ‘This is a valuable opportunity for anyone involved in marketing in the Isle of Man to hear Chris talk about this important project from a marketer’s perspective, including how well the implementation plans are performing.’

He added: ‘The Isle of Man faces a number of challenges in the coming years if it is to deliver Vision 2020 and remain a successful, diverse economy; such as how it will deal with the UK’s exit from the EU and attracting talent to the island.

‘This is therefore an ideal time for the Isle of Man’s marketers and broader business community to hear how DED plans to tackle these challenges.’

The event, titled ‘Vision 2020’, will be held at the Claremont Hotel, Douglas, at 5.30pm next Tuesday (October 18) and is open to CIM members and non-members.

For more information or to book go to http://regions.cim.co.uk/events or call 01628 427340 during office hours.

Estera has strengthened its management team with the appointment of Ethan Levner as group head of corporate development.

He will be responsible for leading the fiduciary and administration services provider’s growth strategy, including mergers and acquisitions.

The creation of this role demonstrates Estera’s commitment to making the most of the many global expansion opportunities that have arisen as a result of a growing and increasingly international sector that remains fragmented, with considerably more consolidation activity expected.

Farah Ballands, chief executive officer of Estera, said: ‘It gives me great pleasure to welcome Ethan to our expanding team. Following the success of our rebrand earlier this year, we are in a strong position to realise our growth ambitions and Ethan’s appointment will be pivotal in reaching those goals.

‘I look forward to working with Ethan and our existing senior management team to continue to build the Estera business.’

Ethan has 15 years of experience executing transactions in financial services on both the buy-side and sell-side in Asia, Europe and the US.

Before joining Estera, Ethan was director at AnaCap Financial Partners, a private equity fund focused on European financial services.

He had previously served as managing director of JRJ Ventures LLP, a private equity fund focused on European financial and business services, and as director in the Financial Institutions Group at UBS Investment Bank, where he advised financial institutions, corporates and private equity firms on mergers, acquisitions, capital raisings and other corporate restructuring activities.

Sean Dowling, group director of Estera Trust (Isle of Man), said: ‘Ethan brings a wealth of M&A and strategy expertise to Estera, having worked as both principal and adviser.

‘His appointment further strengthens our highly experienced and diverse team and clearly signals our intent to continue expanding Estera’s position in the global market.’

A graduate of Drexel University in Philadelphia (USA), Ethan attained a Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, in Finance, Economics and International Business and won the university prize in Economics.

The Sefton Hotel has appointed David Codinha as deputy general manager.

Mr Codinha has more than 13 years of hospitality industry experience gained across Europe, and joined the Sefton Group six years ago.

Initially he began work with the company in its sister property, the Best Western Palace Hotel, in its popular Paragon restaurant, being promoted to restaurant supervisor and then hotel function supervisor.

From there he earned another promotion, moving to the Sefton Hotel to oversee its renowned Sir Norman’s Bar, becoming a junior operations manager, before transferring back to the Palace in a more senior role.

He now moves on to this new position where he will support the Sefton’s general ganager Allen Jackson in the daily running of the four-star property.

Mr Codinha began his career in the hospitality industry in 2003 in Portugal when he joined P&O Ferries, travelling across Europe with the company and getting experience of working in restaurants catering for upto 500 people at any one time. He initially moved to the Isle of Man to work for the Steam Packet Company.

Commenting on his appointment, David said: ‘The conference, banqueting and hotel industry is a very fast-paced and challenging one, and the opportunity presented by my new role at the Sefton where we have so many functions to cater for and guests to look after is very exciting.

‘I am very passionate about improving our customer experience and ensuring that our guests not only have a fantastic time with us, but also that they get to experience everything that the Isle of Man has to offer them.

‘It is a fantastic place to live and offers an exceptional quality of life, and it’s important that people get to see this.’

Mr Jackson added: ‘I am delighted to welcome David to my leadership team and capitalise on his broad experience.

‘The Sefton is the island’s leading luxury hotel and delivers so many different events every year, where his support and knowledge is already proving invaluable.

‘His appointment is also another excellent example of how the Sefton Group is able to offer a long-term career opportunity and progression to individuals wishing to work in the island’s leisure and hospitality sector.’

Mark John Taylor and Rebecca Louise Taylor, both of ‘Rosien’, Bay View Road, Port Erin, bought Mar Rhenny, Ballastrooan, Colby, for £475,000.

It was bought from Jennifer Elizabeth Cain.

Other recent transactions lodged at the General Registry in Douglas are as follows:

Claudette Mildred Cubbon, of Macclesfield, as treasurer, sold Perk Cottage, Knock Froy Lane, Santon, for £385,000, to David Salkeld of 6 Slieau Ree, Main Road, Union Mills.

Michael Christopher Donnelly, and Carol Elizabeth Donnelly, of West Sussex, sold Ferncroft, 8 Vicarage Park, Braddan, for £370,000 to Christopher Jonathan Blake and Nicola Blake, both of 11 Kerrocoar Drive, Onchan.

Ronald Andrew Kelly and Karen Louise Kelly sold 2 Larch Hill, Hightonwood Hill, Douglas, for £276,000, to Gary Patrick William Hunter and Carly Louise Hunter, both of Apartment 1, Clybane Manor, Farmhill, Douglas.

Enid Beatrice Openshaw, as executor, Peter George Whitehead, of London, as executor, Pamela Catherine Hartley Beldan, of 11 Larivane Close, Andreas, as executor, Ian Charles Corbridge, of Chancery House, 22 Finch Road, Douglas, as executor, sold Applegarth, 12 Larivane Close, Andreas, for £260,000, to Nigel Geoffrey Sharp and Natasha Anne Sharp, of West Road, Regaby, Andreas.

Yvonne Symm, of Northumberland, sold 57 Campion Way, Abbeyfields, Douglas, for £245,000, to George Edric Costain and Gillian Ester Costain, both of Ballaughton Manor Hill, Saddlestone, Douglas.

Philip Martin Speedie, of Ballacroak, St Marks, sold a parcel of land, part of Mullinaragher Road, Santon, for £60,000, to Trevor McCulloch and Suzanne McCulloch, both of Old Ballacorris House, Mullinaragher Road, St Marks.

Priscilla Margaret Holmes, of Wallasey, Merseyside, sold two parcels of land, part of Ballacomish, for £30,000, to Michael James Ingram, of 4 The Quay, Castletown.

Anna Marie O’Kelly, of 34 Lhon Dhoo Close, Onchan, sold Garage 39, off Bemahague Avenue, Onchan, for £13,000, to Nigel Frank Fairclough, of 34 Royal Park, Ramsey.

Norman Morrey, of The Bungalow, Braust Road, Andreas, sold a plot of land, part of Ballaghaue, Andreas, for £3,500, to Joseph Daniel Wood and Jennifer Kayleigh Grose, both of Ballameesh, Andreas Road, Andreas.

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We publish details of all house sales unless we receive a written request from the police or probation services.

The number of people out of work in the Isle of Man has gone down again.

Figures released today (Friday) show there were 592 people registered as unemployed when September’s figures were calculated.

That’s down four from August and down 173 on September 2015.

The unemployment rate is 1.3 per cent. That compares with 5.1 per cent in the UK, 4.2 per cent in Germany and 23.2 per cent in Greece.

The figures are broken down into different parts of the economy.

For instance, there were 35 people with a retail distribution background looking for work while there were 108 vacancies.

But there were 64 construction workers looking for work but just 20 vacancies.

In information communication technology there were three people out of work but 19 vacancies.

The figures include three people who need a work permit, 18 people who are under 18 and 38 people who are signing on for credits only.

They do not include people under 18 who are registered with the Department of Economic Development but who are not claiming any benefit. They number 39.

Some suggest that the good figures are not entirely down to an improving economy but due to a shrinking population.

The results of the interim census should prove or disprove that theory.

A world-renowned gambling and gaming consultant has predicted that a merger between betting giant William Hill and the owners of PokerStars could bring more jobs to the island.

Warwick Bartlett is watching closely after William Hill and Canada-based Amaya, who owns island based PokerStars, confirmed they are in talks over a prospective merger.

The two firms have released a joint statement to confirm they were in negotiations.

Mr Bartlett, chief executive of the Castletown based Global Betting and Gaming Consultants, said a merger could spell good news for the island.

He said that William Hill, which is based in Leeds and London, also employs around a couple of hundred people in Gibraltar.

But he pointed out that the Spanish government might ‘throw its toys out of the pram’ if the UK goes ahead with a ‘hard Brexit.’

He said the Spanish government has hinted that if the UK completely exits the EU they might close the border with Gibraltar.

‘There are between 3,000 and 4,000 workers crossing the border every day to work in Gibraltar, many of which work in eGaming.

‘That would be a threat to their industry and some of the operators might find it difficult to operate and might choose another jurisdiction.

‘And if William Hill merges with Amaya and PokerStars then they would have a resource here which could complement their existing operations and they could in actual fact move people here if they wish to.

‘And that would be a benefit to the island.’ He confirmed there is a possibility William Hill could send people to the island to work.

But he warned ‘First of all the deal has to be done.’

And he did issue a note of caution that big name mergers in the gambling industry can lead to some rationalisation.

He said: ‘The number of people employed at PokerStars in the island is very important to the Isle of Man economy.’

Mr Bartlett said William Hill operates its own poker site but ‘it is nowhere near as successful as that operated by PokerStars which has 70 per cent of the market.

‘PokerStars is the market leader [for online poker] and is the equivalent of Betfair on betting exchanges.

‘But PokerStars does have a huge database and that is what is attractive to William Hill because they can market that database for sports betting and casino and slots’.

William Hill already operates a betting shop in the centre of Douglas.

If a merger goes ahead it will create one of the biggest online gaming companies in the world.

There has been a spate of other big name link-ups between betting companies in the last year or so.

l Don’t miss a feature article about Warwick Bartlett in next Tuesday’s Examiner Business News

The latest game from island software giant Microgaming is truly chilling in time for Hallowe’en, or Hop-tu-Naa in the island.

In the company’s latest online ‘slot’ game players can pick their side, Zombie or Survivor, as they immerse themselves in the famed city of Las Vegas in the aftermath of a Zombie apocalypse!

In this 243 ways-to-win slot, the streets of Vegas are bare, casinos are deserted and the infected lurk in the shadows.

Players decide whether they play as one of the hardened human Survivors or the hungry Zombie horde, and they can switch sides at any time. Who will win?

Microgaming, based in Circular Road, Douglas, says the game is ‘full of infectious features, including the Zombie Fist of Cash punching out onto the screen, and a blackout bonus which scans the reels for Zombies or Survivors. Both award cash prizes and are triggered randomly in the base game.’

Commercial director Neill Whyte said: ‘Lost Vegas is a perfectly timed game for Hallowe’en.

‘This slot brings so much entertainment to gameplay, from being able to pick a side and play as a Survivor or Zombie, to the never-seen-before features in the free spin rounds.

‘We are really excited to see this slot launch, and I’m sure that the game will not only be popular upon release, but will be a long-term favourite with players.’ Zombies and Survivors will be taking over the Microgaming stand at a trade event called EiG, in Berlin, from October 18 to 20. The game can be played on desktop and mobile.

Photographs of food being thrown away from a Co-op in Ramsey have sparked outrage.

The photographs, which were taken at the Christian Street branch, were posted on social media site Facebook by a concerned Ramsey resident who said she was ‘utterly disgusted’ by what she had seen.

Eleanor Mary Bruce posted on Facebook: ‘I understand due to health and safety that food has to be disposed of, as it comes to its sell by date ,which by the way is a guideline, but surely this food could either be reduced to a realistic price or given away as a goodwill gesture to those in need.

‘We have a Wildlife Park and if it was sent out there at least it would serve a purpose.

‘I found it quite poignant when I was taking these pictures that there were small children making comments about how bad it was that this amount of food was getting thrown out regularly.

‘I really think you, as a company, need to find a better answer to this or take a leaf out of the French’s attitude where they are not allowed to throw food away. Plus, the food arriving in the store has a very short sell by date which doesn’t help as we live on an island.’

Isle of Man environmental charity Zero Waste Mann has also spoken out about the issue saying it will demand action on food waste.

In a statement the charity said: ‘We are aware of comments in social media about food being wasted at supermarkets on the island. Food waste is usually a hidden problem but when people see edible food being dumped in bins they start to take notice and ask questions.

‘Zero Waste Mann has always been concerned about food waste. Last year we organised a public meeting with Tristram Stuart, an international expert on food waste, so that the people of the Isle of Man could discuss the subject.

‘The figures were startling. He told us that households throw away 20 per cent of all the food that is purchased, usually because people have bought too much and it has gone past its best before date. A third of all the food produced in the world is wasted.

‘The food wasted in America would feed all the world’s hungry people. 10 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions come from growing food that is never eaten.

‘Most of our food has been transported across the Irish Sea. It is too precious to waste.’

The charity, which is based at the Green Centre in Chester Street, Douglas, said people can avoid waste by buying just what they need and not creating waste.

‘When it comes to food waste at shops, restaurants and supermarkets we probably need regulations. In Scotland any company that produces more than 5kg of food waste is now required to present it separately for collection. In France they have introduced ‘doggie bags’ at restaurants and community cafés using spare food are common in other countries.’

Muriel Garland, chairman of Zero Waste Mann, said: ‘Sadly the latest Isle of Man government’s Waste Policy and Strategy 2012-2020 didn’t even mention food waste. We hope the new team under Mr Quayle will address this problem. Zero Waste Mann will soon be knocking on his door asking for a five year action plan on waste including all kinds of food waste’.

A Co-op spokesperson said the company is conducting trials in the South East of England and Yorkshire where it will donate food waste to local causes, including food banks, day centres and youth projects. If these schemes are successful, Co-Op will look at rolling this out across its 2,800 stores, including its stores in the Isle of Man.

The spokesperson said: ‘We are committed to reducing food waste and work hard to achieve the right balance between keeping our shelves fully stocked, while minimising food waste.

‘We often redistribute surplus fruit and vegetables to the local wildlife park and are in discussion with the Isle of Man food bank to identify ways to redistribute more food to local people.’

In addition, the company explained that all of its nine distribution centres supply a range of chilled food items such as yoghurt, meat, fruit, vegetables and ready meals to UK charity FareShare, donating a million meals each year by ensuring that food within its use by date is redistributed.

In the Isle of Man, the Department of Infrastructure’s (DOI) goal is to work ‘Towards Zero Waste’, as part of Waste Policy and Strategy 2012-2020.

By 2022 it hopes to increase recycling levels from the current 50 per cent to 70 per cent and decrease levels of landfill from 25 per cent to 5 per cent.

The DOI said it has been working with local authorities, industry and environmental groups to develop a clear focus and direction for waste management, and continues to promote a ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ policy to manage the island’s waste responsibly, sustainably and cost effectively.

The Department of Infrastructure/Local Authority Waste Working Group, which was established in 2015, has recently written to island supermarkets and food retailers to explore the potential to work together to reduce food waste.

Households have also been encouraged to play their part by considering their purchasing habits and ‘fridge management’ to reduce the amount of food that is thrown away.

A waste audit carried out in 2006-2007 showed that food waste accounted for 25 per cent of the contents of the average household bin in the Isle of Man.

A delegation from Merseyside was in the island for a networking event organised by the Isle of Man Shipping Association.

The association has monthly gatherings where island and off island professionals can meet and exchange views on this important and growing sector for the Isle of Man.

The IOMSA recently entered into a new trade agreement with Mersey Maritime which aims to supercharge bilateral trade, particularly among small to medium sized businesses.

A delegation came over from Merseyside to attend a packed networking event last Thursday in the Embassy Room at the British on North Quay, Douglas.

The group included Chris Shirling Rooke, CEO of Mersey Maritime, Roxana de Raad, chief representative, Netherlands Business Support Office, Mark Raynor, chief operating officer of BAC Mono and Professor Ian Jenkinson head of the Department of Maritime and Mechanical Engineering who gave an informative talk on ‘Skills for the Marine and Maritime Sector’.

The delegation made the most of their visit to the Isle of Man exploring business opportunities and areas of potential co-operation with private and public sector,

Lars Ugland , chairman of the Isle of Man Shipping Association said the evening was ‘thoroughly engaging with the number of questions provided to Professor Jenkinson testament to the quality of his talk’.

The Isle of Man Shipping Association has also introduced a regular speaking programme from on and off island to stimulate discussion and grow relationships.

November 10 will see a talk on ‘Manx natural gas resources offshore and implications for the shipping industry’ given by Diccen Sargent, managing director of island based CityPort Oil and Gas Services, a risk consultancy company specialising in HSE risk management and risk engineering primarily in the upstream oil and gas business supporting exploration, production and service companies.

On January 12, Angie Redhead, head of cruise operations at Liverpool Cruise Terminal and also chairwoman of Cruise Britain will be giving a talk on ‘The Growing Cruise industry and the importance for the Liverpool, UK and the Isle of Man economy’.

The Isle of Man Shipping Association welcomes non members to these talks but persons are encouraged to pre-register in order to manage numbers and suitable venues. If you have interest in attending and finding out about forthcoming talks check www.iomsa.im and email secretariat@iomsa.im

If you or your company is interested in joining the Isle of Man Shipping Association also contact secretariat@iomsa.im.

Appleby has announced the appointment of three senior associates at its Isle of Man office.

The leading offshore law firm has promoted Claire Collister, Helen Fretwell and Eleanor Dangerfield in recognition of their expertise and experience.

Appleby Isle of Man managing partner Faye Moffett said: ‘These appointments are part of our ongoing strategic development of the business, as well as a direct acknowledgement of Claire, Helen and Eleanor’s significant talent and hard work.

‘Appleby is a firm which recognises and rewards ability and dedication as it strives to maintain its outstanding global reputation for client relations and first class legal services.

‘All three play a significant role within the business and have shown themselves to be more than ready to take on even greater responsibilities and leading positions within Appleby.

‘I offer them my congratulations and look forward to watching them flourish in their new positions.’

Claire, who joined Appleby in 2007, has been promoted to senior associate in dispute Resolution department at Appleby’s office in Douglas, while Helen and Eleanor have been promoted to senior associate in the firm’s 18-strong corporate department.

Claire has a broad range of experience in commercial litigation matters, including advising on injunctive relief, search and disclosure orders, cross border mutual legal assistance actions, jurisdictional issues, fund disputes and insolvency matters.

She also acts for a number of insurance clients in defending claims on behalf of individuals, companies and governmental departments, including personal injury claims, medical negligence and damage to property.

Helen, who joined Appleby in 2008, specialises in banking and asset finance law, including ship finance, as well as funds and investment services.

She has also advised both lenders and borrowers on various syndicated and bilateral transactions, including acquisition finance, real estate finance and general corporate finance in both local and multi-jurisdictional transactions.

Eleanor also joined the firm in 2008 and was highlighted in the Legal 500 UK 2016 guide for her shipping and aviation finance expertise, and commended by clients for being ‘efficient and easy to work with’.

She also specialises in banking and asset finance transactions, including property, and has particular experience in providing opinions on Isle of Man companies, dealing with cross-border security and insolvency issues and providing advice on all aspects of ship and aircraft finance and registration in the Isle of Man.

One of the most prominent experts in the betting industry worldwide is based in an office in Malew Street, Castletown.

WarwickBartlett chief executive officer of Global Betting and Gaming Consultants (GBGC) works from the second floor of Barbican House.

Many shoppers must wander up and down the shopping street outside unaware that expert eyes are at work analysing and consulting people all over the world on the international gaming scene.

Business News was allowed access to Mr Bartlett’s business nerve centre.

In a wide-ranging interview Mr Bartlett, who is 70 next year, told how:

l England’s World Cup victory in 1966 nearly scuppered his ambitions to own a chain of betting shops after he secured a bookmaker’s permit at the age of 18.

l He hopes the new island government will work well to embrace the continuing challenges as growth continues in the eGaming industry in the island.

l He admits he can be seen as ‘controversial’ by some of the powers-to-be in the Isle of Man.

l He loves living and working in the island and always endeavours to fly the IOM plc flag when travelling abroad

l He welcomes more women working in eGaming.

Mr Bartlett has been based at the Castletown office since 2008.

‘When we first moved here there was no office accommodation. There was nothing available then inDouglas. The property market was booming and it was a completely different story to what we see today.

‘Now there is a lot of good office accommodation available for people wanting to move here.’

Mr Bartlett bought a house in Castletown and he says nothing can beat walking along the coast to work.

‘It’s about three quarters of a mile . It’s a bit of exercise for me and I enjoy it.’

He shares the office with an accountant and GBGC’s director of research Lorien Pilling.

And there is a satellite office in Zagreb, Croatia, manned by three staff who do a lot of research work for the company.

Mr Bartlett said: ‘We are a global company, we have worked on every continent.’

Mr Bartlett is contacted daily by clients who seek his expert help. Even as we are discussing things, he receives an email from a contact seeking his take on the talks which were then taking place between William Hill and Amaya, owner of PokerStars on a possible merger. The negotiations were later scrapped.

Mr Bartlett is full of fascinating facts and figures and stories about the betting industry.

For example he points to research showing the decrease in the number of betting shops in the British Isles, no doubt partly because of the rise in digital technology and the internet.

In 1961, when bookmakers were first licensed to operate in Britain, there were more than 9,000 ‘bricks and mortar’ bookies rising to a peak of 15,500 in 1966.

‘I think the figures for 2016 will show there are around 8,840,’ he said.

In fact it was in 1966 that Mr Bartlett first came into the business when he opened his first bookmakers shop in Tipton in the industrial heartland of the West Midlands.

He said he had always been fascinated by the world of betting and horse racing and when he was at school his neighbour found him a Saturday afternoon job in a back room at the bookies where the neighbour worked.

‘It paid £2.50 and I sat in the back office and bets were sent through to me to mark off the losers. I did that and I enjoyed it, I would get a nice cup of tea and a piece of cake.

‘And I thought this was really wonderful.

‘I looked at the way the business was being run and I thought there were improvements that could be made.

‘So I thought: ‘‘Why don’t I do this myself?’’.

‘So when I was 18 I got a bookmakers’ permit, I was the youngest person in Britain at that time with one.

‘And the magistrates said they were very sceptical about granting it because I was so young.

‘They were a lot more liberal inthose days and they gave me a chance. it was 1966’

But shortly after opening his first shop, Bartlett’s Bookmakers, in Tipton, he very nearly faced a catastrophe - all because of England’s World Cup victory over West Germany.

‘We took bets on the football and it very nearly cleaned me out, it was the worst result for me. We had been going for only about three months. When the BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme famously announced: ‘‘They think it’s all over’’ it was all very nearly over for me.

‘I had to go to see the Bank of Dad and I paid him back within three months. The results were really good after that!’

A wave of success came along for the bookmakers and he built up the business until there were around 18 shops in the chain, all based around the West Midlands.

Then in 1984 he received a ‘good’ offer, which he accepted from betting giant Corals for around 13 of the shops. ‘Most of them are still trading so they were good shops.

‘I drive past them occasionally on my visits back to the UK.’

As a bookmaker he also made a book on racecourses in the Midlands such as Cheltenham and Warwick and was ‘fascinated by the whole business and you got to meet such interesting and wonderful characters in the racing world.’

Later he also set up a pawnbroking business which he still owns today, called Cashline, with two branches in West Bromwich and Cannock.

The Castletown office of the GBGC includes a boardroom with the walls plastered with newspaper and magazine cuttings.

One of those taking pride of place is from a recent survey of the Top 50 most influential people in the betting industry.

Mr Bartlett was listed in ninth spot which is quite a magnificent achievement.

He was also for 10 years the chairman of the Association of British Bookmakers and served on important committees within the industry.

He recalls:‘We made a lot of fantastic progress on behalf of the industry.’

During that period he helped persuade the Labour government of the day to tax, not on turnover but on gross profits.

One of the Labour ministers at the time was Ed Balls, who is now appearing weekly as a contestant on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.

He is delighted to be operating the business from the Isle of Man and says he makes a point of promoting the island whenever he can.

He was married to his second wife Jennifer in a ceremony a few yards away at Castle Rushen in 2009.

He has a son and a daughter while Jennifer has two daughters.

Mr Bartlett has never been afraid to speak his mind on gaming matters and a few years ago called for an improvement to the shopping and leisure facilities in the island so as to attract the bright young people in the eGaming industry to live on island.

Mr Bartlett, who admits he can be seen as ‘controversial’ by some in the corridors of powers because he speaks his mind and is ‘off message’ said everyone was now speaking about these issues.

‘They are all saying that we have to do something and I think that is one of the challenges for the new government in the Isle of Man.

‘People come over here, they look at the tax advantages and the excellent infrastructure of the island.

‘Entrepreneurs come over here to run a business and they bring their family and that is where it does not work as well as it could.

‘Because you don’t have the shopping and leisure facilities that people want, particularly for people aged between 30 and 45 years.

‘I have to admit it is not easy to provide those facilities, we do not have the populations of Manchester and Liverpool, but what I would say is - look at Tesco, Marks and Spencer, they both perform extremely well here relative to stores in the UK and I believe there is an opportunity for some UK chain stores to do equally as well here.’

Mr Bartlett said one cannot expect too much from the newly elected government, it is just getting its feet under the table.

‘But I do hope they will not waste their first year in coming to grips with what needs to be done. If changes are not made after the first two years then they will not happen because of the countdown to the next election.’

Mr Bartlett added how the industry has changed over his lifetime. ‘I recall that it was 100 per cent male dominated but we now see as many women as men being employed and that has been to the benefit of the industry.

‘I think women multi task better than men which is vital in such a fast moving industry.

‘The first thing I noticed as a young man was that the industry is colour and gender blind, totally merit based, and everyone gets along.’

GBGC projects have included market research and assessments, business planning, product evaluations, operational reviews, development of corporate strategies, license applications, regulation development for and on behalf of Governments, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, and due diligence.

Typical clients include operators, monopolies and state lotteries, suppliers, investment banks, major consultancies and Governments.

As Business News prepared to leave after spending more than an hour and a half in the office it became clear that Warwick Bartlett has no plans to retire just yet.

It is clear he loves this business and I reckon all bets are off on that score.

Warren John Hancox and Rosemarie Hancox, both of Athol House, Athol Street, Port St Mary, bought Brackenback, Bradda West, Port Erin, for £408,000.

It was bought from Diana Mary Brewis, by executors, Hilary Elizabeth Peterson, of Cronk Beg, Ballagawne Road, Colby, as executor, and Patrick Collett, of Cooinagort, Droghadfayle Park, Port Erin.

Other recent transactions lodged at the General Registry in Douglas are as follows:

Claudette Mildred Cubbon, of Macclesfield, as treasurer, sold Perk Cottage, Knock Froy Lane, Santon, for £385,000, to David Salkeld. of 6 Slieau Ree, Main Road, Union Mills.

Neil Patrick Herbert and Alison Herbert sold 29 Meadow Crescent, for £260,000, to Andrew Isaac and Clara Louise Whiteway, both of 37 Cooil Drive, Douglas.

Jane Lesley Corlett, of Ballacross Farm, Poortown Road, Peel, sold 30 Thorny Road, Douglas, for £257,000, to Andrew David Bridson and Danielle Marie Bridson, both of 22 Church Avenue, Onchan.

William Walter Cowley sold Thie Gennal, 21 Mountain View, Peel, for £190,000, to Charles Barry Horne and Diane Elizabeth Horne, both of 12 Mountain View, Peel.

Michael Dawson and Agnes Margaret Kimberley Dawson sold The Glencoe Summerville, 6-8 Empress Drive, Douglas, for £150,000, to Agnes Margaret Kimberley Dawson and Christopher John Dawson, of 23 Marathon Road, Douglas.

Ballamona Association for Mental Health, whose registered office is situated at 34a Alberta Drive, Onchan, sold 6 Harris Terrace, Douglas, for £145,000, to John Mark Phillips Molony, of London.

Christopher Keith Spittall, of Injebreck House, West Baldwin, Braddan, sold land abutting Trollaby Lane, Braddan, for £80,000, to Harry Theodore Whittaker, and Kathleen Sandra Whittaker, both of The Groves, Trollaby Lane, Braddan.

Brian Thomas Kenneth Tomlinson and Sandra Elizabeth Ann Tomlinson, of Riverside, Gardeners Lane, Ramsey, sold a plot of land at Glen Duff, Lezayre, for £5,000, to Robert Charles Phillips, of Sycamore House, Glen Duff, Lezayre.

The Treasury, whose registered office is Government Office, Buck’s Road, Douglas, sold a plot of land to the rear of 2 Cronk-y-Berry, Douglas, for £2,300, to Orbital Properties Limited, whose registered office is situated at 32 Majestic Drive, Onchan.

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We publish details of all house sales unless we receive a written request from the police or probation services.