The Isle of Man's Subway stores will likely have to move as part of Tesco's buyout of Shoprite.

All nine of the island's Shoprite stores have been bought by Tesco - bringing an end to 51 years of trading for the chain which was founded in 1972 by the Nicholson family.

The news was announced on Monday and saw a 'number of Shoprite staff' being put at risk of losing their jobs as a result of the sale.

After news of the buyout broke, Rob Callister, MHK for Onchan, revealed that he and 'others' had written to the government's chief minister in the wake of the announcement, calling on Alfred Cannan 'not to bring forward' any plans that would see work permits for the Isle of Man removed.

He said he had contacted the chief minister about the matter in order to 'protect Manx workers and their future employment opportunities.'

All nine stores will continue trading under the Shoprite brand name in the short-term before transitioning gradually to Tesco shops over the next nine months, according to the supermarket giant.

Tesco has also confirmed that its product pricing structure at the new branches will remain similar to that seen at its UK supermarkets - with a 'small fee' added on to goods to cover transportation costs.

However, news of the sale has left the island's Subway sandwich stores facing an uncertain future.

There are currently only two Subways on the island, one in Peel and one in Port Erin, and both are located inside Shoprite branches.

Both franchises are owned by Shoprite's current owners the Nicholson family and are unaffected by the Tesco takeover.

Isle of Man Today's sister title Gef.Im understands that while Tesco has indicated the Subway branches will be ‘expected’ to close as part of the sale, Shoprite's owners the Nicholson family are currently ‘looking’ at alternative locations that could host the sandwich shops on the island.

Subway is an American based fast-food sandwich franchise with branches all over the world.

The first Subway store opened in the UK in 1996.