The Fox & Goose, Hebden Bridge
The first community-owned pub in West Yorkshire
CAMRA Good Beer Guide, Halifax and Calderdale Pub of the Year 2022 & 2019
The Fox & Goose Open Share Offer
The Fox & Goose is a co-operative pub that is owned and run by its members for the benefit of the community. The membership consists of all those who have bought shares in the co-operative since its inception in 2013. There were 289 members on January 1st 2023.
The last Fox & Goose share offer was in September 2019 and there have been a large number of people expressing an interest in becoming a shareholder since who have not had an opportunity to do so. There are a lot of new faces in the pub, people who are regulars or visitors now but didn’t know the Fox & Goose when the co-operative was formed in 2013. What we’d like to do with this share offer is enable all these people to become members of the co-operative and become involved in this wonderful community enterprise.
All our previous share offers, in 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2019, were time-limited interest bearing offers, designed to recoup capital that had been withdrawn by members and bring our capital holding back to the level of the original investment. They were issued on a first come first served basis with the result that several potential members were not able to become shareholders. We do not feel that a single time-limited share offer will meet the demand for membership at present and in coming years. Additionally, as identified in our recent membership engagement strategy there is a need to broaden our membership, both to be more representative of those who now frequent the Fox and Goose, and also to give us more potential to fill vital roles on the Board, sub-committees and volunteer groups.
Therefore, this is an open share offer for a new class of non-interest bearing shares, for new members over the age of 16 and with a United Kingdom bank account to invest in the Fox & Goose. You will be able to apply to become a shareholder at any time. Our decision to make this non-interest bearing is also based on our 2017 survey of members where only 2% of the responses said they invested to gain interest on their investment.
Our shares are valued at £1 and for this Open Offer there is a minimum and maximum investment of £25 and these 25 shares will not be interest bearing.
We are sure some people would like to invest more in the Fox & Goose, but we are in a fortunate position at the moment where we do not need to raise a significant amount of capital – it is more important for us to broaden the membership and bring new members into the fold. We have set investment at an affordable level of £25 for this Open Share Offer. In the future there may be opportunities for time limited interest bearing share offers for new and existing members to invest in, to help fund specific projects.
Like many investments, community shares are at risk. In addition, they are unregulated and you could lose some or all the money you invest. Unlike deposits with high street banks, community shares are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, nor is there any right of complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Any dispute may be the subject of arbitration as set out in the Society’s rules.
You can either apply online, or by printing and completing the application form, or picking up a copy in the Fox & Goose. We look forward to welcoming you all as new members of the Fox & Goose.
Relevant Documents: