New Owners 26/11/25

 On Monday 24th November we had a meeting with Mr Tony O'Sullivan who has made an offer to purchase the freehold of the Fox Inn.

A summary of Mr O’Sullivan‘s proposal, as communicated to us, is as follows:

·       The Fox will be fully reopened by May 2026 – 7 days a week.

·      The Fox will not have any guest rooms, will be dog friendly and will remain a pub first — a pub that serves food.

·       There will be no borrowing, no loans, and no external funding secured on the pub.

·       Ownership, management and financial control will remain internal.

·       The garden will undergo a thorough refurbishment, improving the outdoor space for all to enjoy.

Yesterday, we were informed by West Oxfordshire District Council that the owner (Stonegate) has notified them of their intention to sell the Fox. We now have the opportunity, if we wish, to trigger a 6 month moratorium on the sale, in order to raise further funds to submit our own competing bid.

We have decided, in the best interests of the community and in order that the pub can be reopened as soon as possible, not to oppose the sale by triggering the moratorium. We will be closing the share offer and all funds will be returned as soon as possible by Crowdfunder.

The BCBS would like to thank our wonderful community for keeping the Fox alive over the last 2 ½ years and supporting our campaign to Save Our Fox. We will continue to safeguard the legacy of the Fox and represent the voice of our community.

We wish Mr O'Sullivan well in his project to reopen our pub and hope that our community will be supportive of it.

Richard C Brown MBE

The Bartons Community Benefit Society