Local Community Launches Campaign to Buy Their Beloved Pub!
An Oxfordshire community is selling shares in their village local in the run up to Christmas to bring it under community ownership. Can you help?
The Fox Inn, Middle Barton
The Fox Inn in Middle Barton is a beautiful Grade II listed 18th Century Public House, it is a unique part of the village, having operated as a thriving Community Hub for hundreds of years. Over the last decade, the pub has often been closed for significant periods of time, or run well below its potential. At the end of June, the owner put the Fox on the market for £495,900 and it has been closed ever since. As the community successfully applied for ACV (Asset of Community Value) status for The Fox in 2021, they now have until the end of this year to make a bid.
Richard Brown MBE is leading the bid and takes up the story: “In today’s world, pubs need to totally reinvent themselves, both in the way they are run and the way they are used. We know that community pubs have more than a 99% success rate. We believe that only our community can ‘Save Our Fox’.”
There was a lot of work to do. How have they been making this happen? John Madden, Vice-Chair, explains: “We’ve been very busy. We launched a survey and used the results to set out a vision for an accessible, welcoming space at the heart of our community. At the same time, we commissioned a structural survey which told us that the building is in good shape and a commercial feasibility study which confirmed that the Fox can, as a Free House under community ownership, be a profitable business. We joined the Plunkett Foundation, who have helped many communities save their pubs, and set up The Bartons Community Benefit Society Ltd. During the autumn, we held some community events to raise awareness.
Pop-up Fox Event 8/9/23
The Society’s Treasurer, Sue West, explains: “Once we have secured the pub, we will recruit a tenant who shares our vision to run the business on our behalf. Our Business Plan sets out how we intend to pay interest on investments and reinvest any surplus in our exciting plans to transform the Fox into much more than a pub.”
How have the community been involved? Sue adds: “We have been overwhelmed by the very strong community support we have seen so far. We have collected pledges of £123k, with many more people interested in investing. People have given many hours of their time and expertise, helping to put our Business Plan and Marketing Strategy together. The community has shared photos and memories to revive the history of this pub, a talented local carpenter has even reproduced the village stocks, which stood at the side of the pub until 1868. A local celebrity Tamzin Outhwaite has also pledged her support.
Jill Kavanagh, Society Secretary, explains the opportunity: “Owning Community Shares is not without risk. You may get interest on your investment, but the real return is the knowledge that your investment is working hard for the good of the community every single day.”
Asked about the share offer, Jill says: “We already have a large number of pledges so we are expecting these shares to move quickly. It isn’t every day people have a chance to buy a share in a 300-year-old Oxfordshire pub and have a say in how it is run.”
Working closely with Crowdfunder.co.uk, who are registered with the Fundraising Regulator, they have set their target at £520,000 and looking for investments between £100 and 100,000 from now until Christmas. The shares also make a great Christmas present for the person who has everything!
You can buy shares and read their Share Offer Document, Society Rules and Business Plan at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-our-fox
For Further information on this story please contact:
Richard C Brown MBE