A billionaire property owner intends to establish a massive cannabis farm on a small island in the Irish Sea.

• John Whittaker, the 79-year-old billionaire and chairman of Peel Group, the real estate firm, wants to construct a £100 million ($136 million) cannabis-growing facility on the Isle of Man, where the company is based.
• A medicinal cannabis production facility, situated on the outskirts of Douglas, would manufacture cannabis for global distribution.
• Peel Group would lease warehouses to tenants for the cultivation of a crop that is not yet legal for recreational use in the U.K. or the Isle of Man.

A small island between the U.K. and Ireland could soon host a large marijuana farm.

John Whittaker, the 79-year-old billionaire and chairman of Peel Group, the real estate firm, wants to construct a £100 million ($136 million) cannabis-growing facility on the Isle of Man, where the company is based.

The proposed facility, situated near Douglas, would manufacture medicinal cannabis for global distribution and prescription to patients. Nevertheless, the Isle of Man has not yet legalized medicinal cannabis, so the cannabis produced at the facility cannot be used on the island.

The Isle of Man, situated in the heart of the Irish Sea, has a finance-driven economy, with tourism and agriculture also playing significant roles.

Peel Group's finance director, Chris Eves, stated on CNBC Wednesday that the cannabis industry could be a profitable new venture for the island.

Eves stated that medicinal cannabis, known as pharmaceutical cannabis, presents a significant opportunity for the island to gain a competitive edge over this side of the Atlantic, as the U.S. and Canada have already made considerable progress.

Computer-generated images depict a site with around 10 buildings including warehouses and offices.

Eves stated that the atmospherically sealed units being developed would guarantee maximum potency of the product.

Licenses

In the U.K. and Isle of Man, the crop is not yet legal for recreational use. Peel Group will lease several large warehouses to one or more tenants, who must first obtain a license before growing the crop.

Applications for cannabis production licenses on the Isle of Man have been submitted by various parties, according to Eves. However, the government has not yet issued any licenses. To begin with, people with the required cannabis farming skills may need to be imported, Eves stated.

The legalization of cannabis for recreational use in various countries is expected to boost sales in the coming years.

Eves stated that Peel Group does not have a stance on whether recreational cannabis use should be legalized on the Isle of Man or abroad.

Our primary objective at this stage is to provide a purely pharmaceutical product. We are not actively seeking to bring about change. We believe there is a viable business case for it without recreational use. To me, this seems like the logical next step. Societies generally accept this trajectory.

Other major developments

In the near future, Peel Group, the company responsible for Media City in Salford, England, and the Trafford Centre mall in Manchester, plans to submit an application for a cannabis farm.

The public consultation on the Isle of Man will continue until March 7.

Although the project has garnered support from both residents and lawmakers, there are concerns among some that it may be unsightly and consume excessive energy.

An Isle of Man civil servant, who requested anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly, stated that the energy requirements are a concern and are currently incompatible with supply and grid.

The cannabis farm will be powered by a solar farm set up by Peel Group.

The civil servant stated that solar capabilities on the island are limited unless they invest in battery storage, which would be beneficial.

The leader of the Isle of Man's Green Party, Andrew Newton, stated that the development poses several sustainability concerns that must be taken into account.

He stated that there is a risk of an increase in single-use plastic usage and a high energy requirement at the site.

Newton noted that Peel NRE plans to install 11MW of renewable energy to support the site, which is equivalent to 15% of the Isle of Man's current total electricity generation capacity.

"It's possible to have a fully operational site within five years," Eves stated.

While the Isle of Man has a tax system that benefits high net worth individuals with no capital gains or inheritance tax, its billionaires, who number several, have faced criticism for not investing more of their money locally.

The spelling of John Whittaker's name has been corrected in this updated story.