24 Hours left!
What an amazing effort everyone, your support has been awesome.Thank you so much!
This is the big push. Any new investment or increase in existing subscriptions now will reduce the amount of short term loans we need to use to fund VAT on the purchase.
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If you haven’t yet, please could you increase your investment?
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If you haven’t already invested, please do so now! Or if you know someone who is still thinking about it, please encourage them.
If you wish to If you wish to make an additional contribution to your existing shareholding please email waldegrave.arms.ca@gmail.com and let us know. When you deposit the funds into our bank account please use your initial and surname as the reference (Account name ‘East Harptree Community Benefit SocietyLimited’, Unity Trust Bank; sort code 60-83-01 account number 2049 4162). We will then make the necessary adjustment to the share register and email confirmation.
Community Ownership Grant awarded!
Great news: our application for the Community Ownership Fund has been successful! The government has awarded us a grant of £250,000 capital funding (for buying the pub) and £48,200 revenue funding (to help set it up).
In more brilliant news we’re very close to a deal with Admiral, subject to contractual details.
This is incredibly exciting as well as a massive vote of confidence in the community’s support of the Save the Waldy campaign and our business proposal. It also means we now have just over 80% of the funds to buy the pub and carry out essential repairs. This includes investment from 222 amazing shareholders and counting. Well done everyone!
To close the deal and move forward with purchasing the Waldy we still need to reach the minimum share offer, as laid out in the Share Offer Prospectus. This means raising a further £112,000 from shareholders.
So, we aren’t out of the woods yet and it’s vital that we receive more investment. If you’ve yet to invest please don’t delay – every contribution matters.
If you’re an existing shareholder and you’d like to buy more shares, please transfer funds with your surname as a reference and you’ll receive a confirmation email.
Why we're saving the Waldy
Admiral Taverns is selling the freehold of the East Harptree Waldegrave Arms. If no other pub operator or individual is interested in purchasing the freehold to continue running it as a pub there is a risk that our community will lose it. Without the Waldy, the character of our village will be fundamentally changed – let's make sure this doesn't happen!
We want to buy the pub and run it as a community-owned business with experienced and committed tenants at the helm. Here's why we know it can work:
Community-owned businesses:
🤝 Put local people first providing essential services, fair employment and
inclusive opportunities
🪴Have a 92% long-term survival rate
🍻Offer cheaper and a better choice of beer
🌏 Care about the future – 96% took some form of climate action in 2022, such as sustainable food production and local sourcing
Community Shares are now live and available for you to buy! Please help us keep this 600-year-old pub for the community by investing in membership. Anyone over the age of 18 can invest a minimum of £100 and maximum of £50,000 and it's one vote per member. You'll find lots of answers on our useful docs page and FAQ section.
Can you help us save our pub by investing by 3rd May?
Steps to buying the pub
From number crunching to wildlife watching, there's lots of work behind the scenes going on in our mission to keep the pub for the community. Seven groups have been toiling to put together a business plan, sustainability report and everything in between. Here's a quick look at what it takes for a community to purchase a pub.
01
Community input
We've carried out a village survey but there's much more to do and to learn. Please sign up to the mailing list below to stay updated.
03
Raise funds
To buy the pub we’ll raise money through membership shares, which are now live for you to buy – fill out an application form.
02
Business plan
We’ve created a business plan and we're applying for a government grant towards purchasing the pub. This is now live for you to view.
04
Buy & run the pub
Once we’ve got funding and funds we aim to buy the pub, find the right tenant and make it a place the community can be proud of.
And the survey says...
A huge thanks to all 285 of you who took part in the village survey and for all those who created it, delivered it and analysed the results. This is a huge step forward in proving that the community supports the purchase of the pub and learning what kind of pub it should become in the future.
'A vibrant food, drink and social destination,
where everyone is welcome.
A local that helps village life thrive.’
The vision for the Waldegrave Arms
The detail
The owners of the Waldegrave Arms East Harptree, Admiral Taverns, wish to sell the pub freehold and have been marketing it for sale since February 2023. At the time of writing this the pub is closed and we have confirmation that no offers have been made.
On 19 October, Admiral triggered the six-month asset of community value process which means the clock is now officially ticking for the community to be able to put in an offer.
However, by 19 of April 2024 without our intervention, we risk losing our pub forever. Not only could this have an impact on house prices but it’s also likely we’ll have to surrender the use of the car park too (essential for parents and teachers and to keep the lanes clear). But above all, we risk losing a business that has the potential to thrive, like so many other
pubs are doing in the area. Losing the Waldy will fundamentally change the character of our village.
Therefore, it’s down to us.
The good news is we knew this was coming. Everything is in order and we are ready to go. A community-led group of East Harptree residents has been working tirelessly for over six months to prepare for this exact moment.
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East Harptree Community Benefit Society Limited is set up and running
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A Management committee in place
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Business plan & Share prospectus written and awarded the Community Share Standard Mark
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We have been awarded a £250k Government grant
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People have volunteered to support this process by providing skills and expertise
The next vital step is for the community to get behind the plan by investing in membership shares.
Here’s how it will work:
1. Make a secure investment and become a member of EHCBS
2. Secure the pub as an asset for the community, for good
3. Use your vote to have a say in the future of the pub
The share offer prospectus and business plan are now available for you to review.
There will also be physical copies of the business plan and share offer prospectus available to view at the EH Village Shop along with copies of the application form at the Village Shop for those who cannot complete them online.
Thanks to Keri for our logo!
We've got a brand new look and logo, thanks to Keri Green, a local illustrator and designer and one of two brilliant artists in residence at the Arts Hub EH.
Sign up to hear more
We need your opinions about the pub to make our bid a success. You'll receive our survey and progress updates.
