A new Tesco store on the Isle of Man is set to throw open its doors next week.

The Ramsey St Paul’s Express is the third of nine new stores to launch on the island following Tesco’s acquisition of Shoprite.

To mark the grand opening on Thursday, April 11, Tesco will be donating £1,000 to the Queen’s Pier Restoration Trust – a community group working to reopen the historic Ramsey pier.

Tesco says its new Ramsey store will sell products from a range of Manx suppliers as well clothing and a Costa coffee machine in addition to the usual great range of products available in Tesco Express stores.

Tesco’s purchase of Shoprite brough to an end 51 years of trading for the island supermarket chain which was launched in 1972 by the Nicholson family.

Until the sale was announced last October, Shoprite was the biggest independently owned food chain on the Isle of Man.

Tesco will be donating £1,000 to the Queen’s Pier Restoration Trust to mark the store’s opening

At the time, Shoprite's owners Deryck and Kevin Nicholson said it was a historic moment for their business.

In a joint statement, they said: 'We have carefully considered this decision and are pleased to pass our business on to an established brand in Tesco, which already has a presence on the Isle of Man.

'We wish to express our gratitude for the loyal support of our staff, suppliers and customers and we would like to sincerely thank them for being part of our journey for more than 50 years.

Tesco has been serving customers on the Isle of Man since 2000.

Tesco Store Director Andy Sanderson said: ‘Things are really started to move forwards for us on the Isle of Man as we open our third store.

‘The previous two have been really well received and I want to thank residents for their support and enthusiasm.

‘We’ve worked in close partnership with local suppliers and the Isle of Man government to ensure we can provide the best service to our customers with great products and value.

‘Over the course of the store openings there’ll be around 120 new jobs created and we want to continue to have a positive impact in the local community through Stronger Starts and food donation programmes.’

According to the supermarket giant, supporting the local community is hugely important to Tesco and its colleagues, and the new stores will look to have an ongoing positive impact through its community programmes - Tesco Stronger Starts and Community Food Connection.

Over the last seven years, Tesco’s customers on the Isle of Man have helped to nominate worthy recipients of grants totaling £217,504 for 109 groups and good causes through its blue token voting scheme, Stronger Starts.

Community groups seeking to benefit from Tesco’s Stronger Starts fund are encouraged to apply for the scheme at https://tescostrongerstarts.org.uk/