Moyenne Island

Is Moyenne Island for sale, and how much does it cost?

Moyenne Island is a 24 acres partially developed private island in Inner Islands, Seychelles. It is not currently on the market (a past-sale benchmark we track): Past sale · editorial benchmark. Tenure is freehold. Foreign ownership is restricted, so the ownership structure must be verified. This is an editorial profile drawn from public record, clearly attributed, not our listing.

Summary

Moyenne Island is a tiny 9.9-hectare island within Sainte Anne Marine National Park, a few kilometres off northeast Mahé, and is famous as the world's smallest national park. Bought in 1962 for £8,000 by Yorkshire newspaper editor Brendon Grimshaw, who spent four decades rewilding it and declined large offers to keep it wild, it passed on his 2012 death to the Moyenne Island Foundation and is protected national-park land. It is not for sale. We profile it as an editorial entry both for its singular heritage and because its £8,000 purchase price is a rare, documented anchor point in the Seychelles island record.

Land & Waterfront

Grimshaw and his helper René Antoine Lafortune planted some 16,000 trees, cut nature trails and introduced Aldabra giant tortoises, around fifty of which now roam free, alongside rescued birdlife, transforming an overgrown island into a dense living arboretum. Set within Sainte Anne Marine National Park, its surrounding waters are protected and popular for day-trip snorkelling. The island's character is that of a curated conservation garden rather than a resort. For any observer, Moyenne demonstrates how a very small island can hold outsized ecological and sentimental value, which is precisely why it has been placed permanently beyond the market as a national park.

Access & Utilities

Moyenne is reached only by boat, around fifteen to twenty minutes from Mahé, and welcomes organised day visitors rather than overnight guests. Facilities are deliberately modest: a small restaurant and bar, a museum commemorating Grimshaw and his companion René Antoine Lafortune, a warden's house, a jetty, nature trails and two graves with a small chapel. Power, water and communications are minimal and off-grid, in keeping with its conservation purpose. There is no development proposition here and nothing to service beyond the visitor facilities and the tortoise population, so the operative concern is stewardship rather than infrastructure or utilities.

Ownership & Use

Grimshaw's 1962 purchase for £8,000, roughly £149,000 in today's terms, is the only clear price on record; he is reported to have turned down offers said to reach tens of millions to preserve the island as a park. Since his death in 2012 the island has been held by the Moyenne Island Foundation, a charitable trust, and forms part of the national park declared in 2008 and 2009. It is not privately transferable. For buyers surveying the Seychelles, Moyenne is best read as a heritage and conservation landmark and as a documented historical data point, rather than as any form of acquisition opportunity.

Provenance

Bought in 1962 from Philippe Georges for £8,000 by Yorkshire newspaper editor Brendon Grimshaw, who lived on Moyenne with lifelong collaborator René Antoine Lafortune and hand-rewilded it over four decades, repeatedly declining purchase offers that press accounts put as high as $50 million, before securing its designation as Moyenne Island National Park in 2008-2009. On Grimshaw's 2012 death, stewardship passed to the Moyenne Island Foundation, which still manages the island today.

Specification

Status	Archive
Offering	For sale
Region	Indian Ocean · Inner Islands
Country	Seychelles
Size	24 acres · 9.9 ha
Tenure	Freehold
Development	Partially developed
Holding-cost band	Moderate — partial infrastructure
Access	boat
Nearest airport	~15-20 min boat from Mahé
Power	minimal / off-grid
Water	on-island supply
Communications	minimal
Structures	small restaurant/bar, museum, warden's house, nature trails, jetty, chapel/graves
Foreign ownership	Restricted (see notes)

Price record

Documented public figures over time — asking prices, reported sales and reductions, each attributed. This record is maintained editorially and may lag the market.

The full traced record — ownership lineage and every dated event back to the earliest public mention — is in The Ledger, for members.

Legal & Ownership Notes

Held by the Moyenne Island Foundation and designated a national park since 2008/2009; not privately transferable. Included as editorial reference only.

Zoning: national park

• national-park status precludes sale or development

Satellite reference: ESRI World Imagery / Google Earth — Moyenne Island, Seychelles.

Common questions

How much does Moyenne Island cost?

Moyenne Island is profiled at: Past sale · editorial benchmark. Figures reflect public record at time of writing and may change; the profile keeps a dated price record.

What tenure does Moyenne Island have?

Moyenne Island is held on freehold tenure. Always confirm the exact instrument and any remaining term on the title.

Can a foreigner buy Moyenne Island?

Foreign freehold ownership is restricted; purchases typically run through a lease or company structure. Held by the Moyenne Island Foundation and designated a national park since 2008/2009; not privately transferable. Included as editorial reference only.

How do you get to Moyenne Island?

Access is by boat. Nearest airport: ~15-20 min boat from Mahé.

How big is Moyenne Island?

Moyenne Island is approximately 24 acres (9.9 hectares).