Casterton Community Hub Limited: Questions and Answers

General

Q: What will happen if a buyer for the pub comes forward?

A: The community feedback we received in the recent community questionnaire showed that the ideal scenario for the majority of Casterton residents who replied is that a third party operator buys The Pheasant and continues to run it as a pub. We have therefore advised the current owner that if an acceptable third party bid is in place at the expiration of the bid moratorium in August, we will not table a community bid against it, therefore allowing the third party to progress unopposed.

The bid moratorium does not give us any priority as a purchaser, but importantly affords us time to prepare a competing bid. However, in the meantime, our aim is to progress a community bid “in parallel” with any potential interest from third parties as far as we possibly can. We believe that this is important so that, if no acceptable third party offer is made by the August deadline, the community is in the best possible position to act to save The Pheasant and preserve this important village asset into the future – a “safety net” so to speak.

Q: If The Pheasant comes under community ownership at a future point, how would it interact with other village organisations?

A: A core part of any community owned pub is its role as a community hub. This is the main reason that we chose Casterton Community Hub Limited as the name of the CBS.

We are working on what the community hub aspect of The Pheasant might entail, informed by feedback from the community questionnaire and noting that some residents flagged the need to avoid any conflict with existing village hall activities. Therefore, to shape The Pheasant’s community role we aim to work closely with the village hall to ensure any community activities at The Pheasant are complementary and mutually beneficial.

We have reached out to Casterton & Sedbergh Preparatory School, who historically had a strong relationship with The Pheasant. We have received a letter of support from the school who are open to rekindling that relationship in various forms. Additionally, we are scoping the opportunity to encourage sporting/activity based clubs to utilise a community hub, such as cycling, walking and potholing, though this is at an early stage.

Q: Will notes of the informal group’s discussions be published?

A: To date, and at the time of writing, we are an informal group of residents and, as such, we will not be publishing notes of the informal group’s discussions. We are keen to keep Casterton residents informed about progress so we will continue to issue updates via email and on this site. We welcome your questions, but hope that you understand our need to prioritise hitting our deadlines for the bid, so we cannot answer each question individually. Please send any questions to us and we will endeavour to answer them in future updates to this FAQ. We also plan to have future public meetings to keep everyone informed of progress.

Once the formalised CBS is in place, in accordance with FCA requirements, minutes of meetings will be published and there will also be an Annual General Meeting.

Q. How will the pub be run if bought by the community?

A. If we are successful in purchasing the pub we will appoint a tenant and enter into a rental agreement with him/her to run the licensed business selling food and drink in our premises, and to pay an affordable but realistic rent to the Society. The rent will be set at a level that gives the tenant the opportunity and incentive to run a thriving pub business. We intend to find and appoint a tenant who understands the skills needed to create and grow a vibrant village pub and community hub and who is incentivised and motivated to bring our vision to life in full.

Q. Can we dictate how a tenant runs the pub?

A. With a tenancy model the tenant has the freedom to run the pub as they see fit, within the context of operating a community pub. This context is underpinned by a tenancy agreement, which (as an example) might state how many days the pub is expected to be open and the services it should offer.

Financial

Q: How much will need to be raised to buy The Pheasant?

A: Once we have the valuation/survey report we will have a more accurate figure for any bid, as we will know how much we need to budget for any additional costs, e.g. maintenance work, alterations etc. Stamp duty and purchase costs will also need to be factored in. The total amount needed is likely to be in excess of £600,000, however we will share firm numbers with residents when we have them, rather than attempt ‘guesstimates’

Q: What is the proposed funding model for a community bid?

A: The most suitable funding model would include:

• An application to the Community Ownership Fund, which is likely to be for £249,000.
• A community share purchase scheme with a likely target of raising £250,000.
• Additional grant applications and fund raising.

Q. What are the chances of a successful bid to the COF?

A. We believe we can build a good case to make an application; one that demonstrates (a) that the pub is a vital asset to the community and that (b) it has a sustainable future under community ownership. The first stage of the process is to submit an expression of interest, which we have done, and the response was positive.

Q: How does a community share purchase scheme work in practice?

A: Community shares are ideally suited to community-focused organisations. We anticipate that an ambitious community share funding target of £250,000 is likely to be necessary for our bid for The Pheasant.

If we do launch a community share purchase scheme, a full share prospectus would be provided ahead of the launch, giving full details of the scheme. We would also have a public meeting to give details of the scheme and to answer any questions. The scheme would operate under FCA rules.

You can read more about community shares at https://mycommunity.org.uk/understand-more-about-community-shares

Q: Have you found someone to underwrite any prospective debt?

A: The majority of funding for the project is hoped to come from a grant from the Community Ownership Fund and a from the community buying Share Capital. To the extent any debt would be required, e.g. a loan from a bank, the loan would be secured (‘underwritten’) on the asset value i.e. the property.

Q: How can I contribute to the “fighting fund”?

A: Contributions to the “fighting fund” are very welcome to enable us to cover the costs being incurred to help us to save The Pheasant, e.g. the valuation/survey. Once Casterton Community Hub Limited has been formally set up as a CBS, it can apply to open a bank account, but until then the informal group does not have a bank account. If you would like to contribute to the “fighting fund” before the CBS has been formalised, please contact Andrea Sharp on andreasharpy@icloud.com