Save The Silks – Invest in Your Community

A copy of the society rules are available here.

TThe rules are a standard set of rules set out by the Plunkett Foundation; a charitable organisation set up to support community businesses like ours. The rules stipulate how the society is constituted and how it is governed; covering things like its purpose, membership, management, reporting etc., A link to the Plunkett Foundation is available at the bottom of the page if you would like to know more.

We are aiming to raise the funds necessary to purchase The Silks on the Downs and use it to provide a high-quality local dining and drinking experience as well as a central hub for community engagement, services and benefits. This includes making The Silks a Visitors' Gateway to the Marlborough Downs, utilising the many outdoor activities that our public footpaths, bridleways, national trails and cycle routes provide and to secure its long-term future for the benefit of the community. This Share Offer is aimed at residents of Ogbourne St Andrew and Ogbourne Maizey as well as the wider surrounding area who will become owners and beneficiaries of a thriving business.

The Society will be governed by a Management Committee, elected by a membership vote each year. The role of the Management Committee is to ensure that strategic governance, oversight, direction and guidance are provided across the Society, and specifically to the Operating Committee, in order to ensure the Society achieves its purpose.

The Operating Committee will be responsible for delivering all aspects of the business plan and the successful management of the pub’s key business functions at the operational level. The committee will comprise the Pub Manager, once recruited, volunteers and members of the Management Committee fulfilling various business roles as required.

Purchase of the minimum number of shares will confer membership of the Society, giving members control over the business through the annual election of a Management Committee and voting rights on significant issues at regular meetings. Societies are by law intended to be democratic organisations, with all members having an equal vote, regardless of the size of their shareholding.

The residents and friends of Ogbourne St Andrew, Ogbourne Maizey and surrounding areas will benefit directly from having a vital village amenity preserved for future generations. The Silks will act not only as a location for great food and dining, but also as a central hub to support our community in making it stronger, more vibrant and cohesive in which to live.

In addition, it is our intent to pay interest to members at 3% per annum after Year 3 when the Society projects it will have sufficient sustainable income and reserves as described further in the offer. In addition applications and funds received before the 31 March may be eligible for Social Investment Tax Relief.

All shareholders in a Community Benefit Society have a vote on key decisions regardless of how many shares they hold. In addition they can be elected to the Management Committee if they would like to be more directly involved and we will always need the help of volunteers to make this a success.

There will be regular opportunities to talk to the Management Commitee and we will hold an Annual Members' Meeting where accounts and reports will be presented along with key decisions requiring a vote.

We intend to produce a quarterly digital newsletter for all members of the Society that will update them on trading performance and plans, with a more detailed review at the half year. This will be key to maintaining engagement with our member community, where we can share ‘member offers’ for the upcoming quarter or ‘member evenings’.

We are entering negotiations with the owner and believe that we can agree a fair price for the freehold

As it has done historically, the pub needs to continue to attract diners from outside the immediate village with a compelling 'gastro-pub' offer to succeed financially. However, we recognise that there are lots of opportunities to offer more 'pub grub' as well as tweaking the layout to encourage more casual drinkers from the immediate area. In addition, we aim to use the space during the day and quiet periods to offer more community benefits.

To reduce isolation and improve social connectivity we will be aiming to offer an informal day time coffee shop to encourage home workers, parents, pensioners, walkers, cyclists, in fact, anyone to drop in for a coffee and a chat. We will also explore whether we can offer a shop for day-to-day essentials, goods from local producers as well as a parcel pick up and drop off service.

We also aim to make the space more flexible so we can host community events such as clubs, live performances, sporting events and charity endeavours to continue to bring people together and bring value to our community.

We want to make The Silks a gateway to the beautiful Marlborough Downs for walkers, cyclists and horse riders so as well as suitable facilities such as bike racks, we aim to host a range of information to help people enjoy the beautiful countryside responsibly.

Of course!

We will always need volunteers to help out in the pub - particularly for the community focused activities.

We will also be looking for willing volunteers to help the get pub ready for re-opening. Many hands make light work!

If you are interested in volunteering, just send us a message, letting us know what skills you have or how you'd like to volunteer.

This is much more than 'just' re-opening the Silks. As well as great food and drink, we want to build this as a community hub offering facilities and services that benefit the community.

Community Benefit Societies were established specifically for this sort of enterprise designed to benefit the wider community as well as the members. It has some similarities with a Company (eg ability to offer shares, limited liability for members) but it also has differences (one member one vote, non-tradable shares that cannot increase in value, limits on financial returns, clearly articulated community objectives). The vast majority of community owned pubs have used this legal structure.

This is so much more than a pub.

The aim of the share offer is to raise a minimum of £100,000 with a target of £240,000 and a maximum of £500,000.

We are looking to raise the total capital required through a combination of funding routes, including the share offer, grants, loans, donations and fundraising, to secure a bright new future for our community pub. The total raised will allow us to buy the freehold and then repair, refurbish and restock, as well as provide the initial working capital required to operate the pub.

Each share will cost £50 with a minimum investment of £200 (4 shares). The maximum individual investment will be £50,000 or 10% of the total value of share capital raised, if lower.

To be a member you must be 18 years or over. Corporate members are allowed if they support the interests of the Society and its purpose. The share issue launched on the 10th February 2021, and the application process is now open and will remain open until 31 May 2021 - now extended to 31st July 2021. Applications with funds received prior to and after 31 March 2021 will be logged separately as these may qualify for personal tax relief in different tax years. The Management Committee reserves the right to extend the closing date to 31 July 2021 if the required funding level has not been met (and indeed we have done).

The application process is now open and the share offer document including the application form is available to download from this website. You will need to return this, with payment, by 31 May - now extended to 31 July. To be potentially eligible for SITR tax relief, your application and payment will need to be received by 31 March.

Shares in Community Benefit Societies are potentially eligible for Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) provided they meet certain conditions. This scheme allows individual investors (not organisations or corporations) to recover up to 30% of the total value of their share purchase against personal income tax in the year in which the investment is made. If their total income tax liability in that year is less than 30% of their investment, then the tax relief is limited to the lower amount. To qualify for SITR no one member will be allowed to hold more than 30% of the total shares allocated.

We believe that our share offer complies with the conditions for SITR and as such have applied to HMRC for Advance Approval. It is important to note that approval is not guaranteed, and we will not know if we have been successful until we make the actual application early in 2022 after the pub has been trading for a number of months.

To be potentially eligible for SITR in 2020/21, the relevant share applications together with the funds must be received and logged by the Secretary by 31 March 2021. Provided we have reached the minimum target of £100,000, all applications received on or by 31 March will be treated as being received on 31 March by the Management Committee and membership will commence from this date.

Applications will continue to be received after 31 March up until the close of the offer on 31 May and these will be potentially eligible for SITR in 2021/22.

Members can apply to the Management Committee, who may allow the member to pay in tranches up to 30 June 2021. However only those shares for which payment has been received by 31 March would be potentially eligible for SITR. Members wishing to pay in instalments should make this known to the Secretary when submitting their application form.

The share issue launched on 10th February 2021, is open for applications and will remain open until 31 May 2021 - now extended to 31 July. Applications with funds received prior to and after 31 March 2021 will be logged separately as these may qualify for personal tax relief in different tax years. The Management Committee reserves the right to extend the closing date up to 31 July 2021 if the required funding level has not been met and indeed we have done.

Community shares are withdrawable but cannot be transferred, sold or given to anyone else, except on your death or bankruptcy. You can tell us in advance who you wish to transfer your investment upon your death, and we can transfer the first £5,000 of your investment to them; any investment above £5,000 requires your beneficiary to be explicitly named in your will. If you do not nominate anyone, then the Management Committee will rely on the instructions given by your executors.

Community shares are a long-term investment in the community. To give the Society a chance to become established and to satisfy the conditions of Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR), shareholders will be required to hold their share investment for the first three years. After that time, members will be allowed to request withdrawal of some or all their shares.

The rules of the Society give the Management Committee the power to decline a request to withdraw funds if it would endanger the viability of the Society. With the support of the community, it is anticipated the business will generate a financial surplus and allow managed withdrawals of shares from Year 4 (up to an annual limit decided by the Management Committee based on the viability of the business). If there are sufficient funds in any given year to allow them, the Management Committee will set a deadline for receipt of withdrawals.

Prior to Year 4, and each subsequent year, the Management Committee will stipulate the maximum amount of share capital that may be repaid in that year. This amount will take into account the long-term interests of the Society, the need to maintain prudent reserves and the Society’s commitment to community benefit and therefore could equate to zero. it will not be more than 10% of the Society’s total capital. If there are sufficient funds in any given year to allow them, the Management Committee will set a deadline for receipt of withdrawals, and all requests received in time will be honoured on a pro-rata basis (see share offer document for details). A copy of our Society rules is available here.

A figure of £500,000 will enable us to buy and renovate the pub without the need for any debt. The aim of the share offer is to raise a minimum of £100,000 with a target of £240,000 and a maximum of £500,000. If we raise less than the minimum target, we will stop the project at that point and return the funds.

The optimum target share offer figure of £240,000, represents a ‘solid’ figure which we think is achievable, but even this requires us to raise further funds in grants and loans to be able to buy and renovate the pub. Those loans could in turn reduce our ability to make payment to shareholders, so, we would like to do better than £240,000 and be less reliant on other sources.

If we do not believe we can raise enough funds to buy, refurbish and open the pub, we will return the invested funds.

Our minimum age to invest is 18 and is set out in our Society rules. Whilst it is possible for children to hold shares in Community Benefit Societies, it would have required us to obtain expert legal advice and possibly draft additional clauses to the standard rules and we felt that the cost and time involved would not be appropriate. Additionally there is a broader question as to whether encouraging children to invest in a pub, however community focused, is the right thing to do.

We recognise that this might be disappointing to some people in the community who would like to invest on behalf of their children but hopefully the reasons are clear and we hope that doesn’t discourage the parents from investing to save the Silks!

If you would like to check your shareholding, you can email the secretary and they will confirm by return email.