Campaign Results In New Red Lion Owner

We have not communicated with you for several weeks since we alerted you to the fact that Punch Taverns had opened negotiations with another potential purchaser after we were unable to raise sufficient funds through the Sidbury Community Enterprises share offer to purchase the Red Lion, refurbish it and to fund the required start-up costs.

The reason for saying nothing since then was that, whilst Punch Taverns has kept us abreast of the progress of the purchase negotiations with the other potential purchaser we were provided information on a strictly confidential basis. However, in light of the report of Tom Barrington’s successful purchase of the Red Lion in today’s Sidmouth Herald we feel that we can now address the issue.

Firstly, we offer Tom our congratulations in successfully purchasing the Red Lion and obviously we hope that it will go from strength to strength under his ownership. It is in the village’s interest that it has a popular village pub, which was the main objective of the Campaign. We understand that Tom may not be opening until later in the month. 

This has therefore brought the activities of Save The Red Lion Campaign and Sidbury Community Enterprises to a conclusion almost 15 months from when it all began at the open meeting in the Red Lion’s skittle alley on 19 May last year. We believe that although the vision that Sidbury Community Enterprises launched for the pub cannot be realised through community share ownership, we are pleased to have managed to secure the use of the premises as a pub for at least 5 years.

Many people who live both locally and further afield have, over the past 15 months, supported the Campaign’s activities to retain the Red Lion. We could have found ourselves in a situation where the village pub closed permanently, rather than just as presently for the temporary period between Punch Taverns and Tom Barrington’s ownership. We are sure that Tom will recognise that through our efforts the purchase price was reduced by £100,000. 

So there is much to celebrate. Our thanks also must go to Hugo Swire and Reverend Susie Williams for being the Campaign Patrons. Much thanks also go to DCC Clr Claire Wright for her personal unwavering support and her financial support from her DCC Locality Budget. We also received good financial support from the Keith Owen Fund. Both of these funding streams allowed the Campaign to thrive and we are very grateful to them.

We have received great support and much free publicity from the local press including from BBC Radio Devon, Express & Echo, Western Morning  News, Pulmans View from Sidmouth and in particular the Sidmouth Herald. Our thanks go to all of them.

We received a significant grant from a government funded agency which allowed us to buy in assistance from expert advisers and we now need to reconcile what we have spent from the grant and to return the balance. We now need to withdraw our funding application for over £100,000 for a capital grant that would have made up the shortfall from the share offer.

Without the invaluable initial support of the Plunkett Foundation from the very start we would not have been able to construct a meaningful business plan which formed the basis of our share offer.

In the end the share offer raised £102,250 from 157 investors. This was raised over a period of just over 5 weeks! We think that was a great achievement and showed that the vision for a future Red Lion had significant support. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to allow Sidbury Community Enterprises to complete the purchase of the Red Lion. We were clear that £200,000 was the minimum that we needed to raise in order to deliver the vision and the basic refurbishment required.

Our thanks too must go to all of those who have served on the Steering Group, past and present. Between them they invested a great deal of time, energy and commitment to delivering the vision. Our job, along with them now is to settle outstanding bills associated with the 15 month campaign and to return all of the uncashed cheques to our investors. This we will do over the forthcoming weeks. Their faith in the project was incredible.

Finally, a big thank you to everyone who has in any way, big or small, contributed to or supported the project to retain the Red Lion as Sidbury’s village pub. And once again we wish Tom Barrington good luck and every success.

Regards

Fred Burnett                              John Loudoun

Chair                                          Secretary

An Alternative Kid On The Block

We have been formally advised that Punch Taverns has now accepted an alternative offer to that made and agreed with Sidbury Community Enterprises for the Red Lion. This alternative offer we have been told is at a price that is “no lower” than that agreed with Sidbury Community Enterprises. We make this point because we understand that it has been said, erroneously, locally that the agreed price now accepted was lower than that which was agreed with Sidbury Community Enterprises. This is incorrect.

We are also advised that the only reason why Punch Taverns has now accepted this alternative offer is because Sidbury Community Enterprises was unable, at this stage, to fully fund the purchase of the Red Lion.

We are sure that you will share the disappointment of the Management Committee in this turn of events. It is however perhaps not surprising that Punch Taverns, which has been trying to sell the pub for some 14 months now, has responded to an alternative potential purchaser in this manner. It was perhaps too big an ask to expect Punch Taverns to work with us for a few more months whilst we continued to seek to raise the outstanding balance required to fulfil our business intentions. I am told that Punch Taverns has set the alternative potential purchaser a relatively short completion timescale of 4 to 6 weeks, which would mean that by, approximately the end of July we will know whether we still have the opportunity to purchase the pub.

The Management Committee intend to continue to seek the capital grant and additional investment from potential shareholders that we previously said we would pursue. We appreciate the positive responses received from many investors and Campaign supporters to our proposal to apply for this grant. It is our view that we should continue in this way in case the alternative potential purchaser fails to complete on the sale. We remain committed to Sidbury Community Enterprises’ vision for the pub as a community owned village pub.

Obviously, the Management Committee will keep the situation under review. If the pub is purchased by the alternative potential purchaser then the Management Committee accept that will bring our bid to purchase the Red Lion to a disappointing conclusion.

We will keep you updated as information about the purchase of the Red Lion as matters progress.

A Great Response To The Share Offer

Sidbury Community Enterprises’ share offer has concluded after running for 5 ½ weeks. During this time it distributed share prospectuses across the whole of Sidbury. It also held two public open days in Sidbury village hall where it displayed the refurbishment plans that it had worked up for a future Red Lion business and were able to discuss the detail of the share offer with those who attended. In total around 150 people attended the Open Days and provided great positive feedback on the plans.

Sidbury Community Enterprises’ Chair, Fred Burnett, said “It has been most heartening to have received investments from more than 150 investors who have provided in excess of £100,000. We are incredibly proud to have raised so much money from such a large number of investors in a relatively short period of time. This, we believe, demonstrates that our vision for retaining the Red Lion has significant support. We always knew that our target to raise £200,000 through the share offer was challenging to say the least”.

Sidbury Community Enterprises business plan and the premise for the share offer required it to raise at least £200,000. As it did not manage to fully raise this amount through the share offer the Management Committee this weekend met to consider how to respond.

The Management Committee reaffirmed that it would only proceed to purchase the Red Lion on the basis of the proposals as set out in its vision statement and in the share offer prospectus. This means that it needs to raise around £133,000 from a mortgage and around £200,000 through shares, short term low loan(s) and donations. In its opinion it do not believe that a viable business could be created from significantly less a total investment.

For this reason it is, at this stage, unable to immediately move to purchase the Red Lion. It is however proposing applying for a non-refundable capital grant from Social Investment Business, which is a government funded organisation that supports social enterprises such as Sidbury Community Enterprises. This grant has only become available since it launched its share offer. It proposes applying for a grant of at least £100,000, which is the least that can be applied for, in order to make up the shortfall in the funds that it raised through the share offer.

If it is successful in obtaining this grant it would not be paid out until mid September. This would however allow it the opportunity to continue to seek additional investors who could purchase shares or provide it with donations.

None of this alters its business plan or vision for a future Red Lion business. It does however mean that the timetable for Sidbury Community Enterprises to purchase the Red Lion would slip until September.

The Management Committee also reaffirmed that should it fail to raise a total of around £200,000 from shares, donations and the grant then it would at that point determine that its attempts to purchase the Red Lion had failed. It is not prepared to try to purchase the pub, refurbish it and start trading on a budget that will not deliver a viable business.

Sidbury Community Enterprises has written to all those who invested to seek their agreement to this approach. It has determined that it will not cash any investments that have been made either through cheques or on-line until it is clear that it has the full amount of funds required to commence a viable business. It is however confident that its investors will agree with its approach and continue to demonstrate the faith that they have shown in the business plan and proposition to create a community pub in Sidbury, which their investment.

Final Week Of Share Offer!

We are now in the final week of the share offer. You still have the opportunity to invest in a future Red Lion business!

The vision for a future Red Lion business is accessible at – http://sites.google.com/site/thepubinthe village/Feb2014VisionStatement.doc

To purchase shares download the share prospectus at – http://sites.google.com/site/thepubinthevillage/SCELShareProspectus.pdf

Still Time To Purchase Shares

As we move towards the final week of the community share offer a reminder that the share prospectus can be downloaded at -http:/sites.google.co/site/thepubinthevillage/SCELShareProspectus.pdf.

The share offer closes on 23 May and so cheques and completed share application forms should be sent in now.

Latest Pulmans View From Sidmouth Share Offer Open Day Report

This week’s local freebie newspaper Pulmans View from Sidmouth carries a report of the first share offer Open Day held on 28 April in a report on page 4 entitled “Residents respond to pub campaign appeal”.

You can read the article at - http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?pbid=b553c14a-f023-4ec6-a5ac-b9d745b0d550

Great Second Share Offer Open Day

Great interest has been shown in Sidbury Community Enterprises’ community share offer to purchase the Red Lion Inn in Sidbury. It has held two share offer Open Days in the past fortnight where around 150 people came along to Sidbury Village Hall to speak to campaigners about the share offer and their plans for a future Red Lion business.

On the second Open Day, held on 3 May, a number of residents brought along completed share offer application forms and presented supporting cheques. The interest in the share offer has clearly increased as a result of what residents have seen and heard at the Open Days.

At the Open Days residents were able to view not only the architect, Simon Spence’s latest plans to alter and upgrade the Red Lion, but also to see 3D computer generated drawings of how these proposals would alter the pub. In addition residents, who came not only from the village, but also from Sidford and Sidmouth, were able to see artist’s impressions of how the inside of the pub’s bar and restaurant areas would look like.

Commenting upon the success of the two Open Days, Sidbury Community Enterprises Chair Fred Burnett said – “We were greatly encouraged by the numbers of those who took the time to come and have a look at what Sidbury Community Enterprises is proposing to do to alter the Red Lion. The feedback was incredibly positive and we have taken way a few comments from those who attended as we think that they can enhance our proposals.”

Fred Burnett concluded- “I was surprised that some people came along with their cheque books and completed share application forms. One person even took away 6 application forms to share out amongst a group that they belong to.”

Prospective investors in the purchase of the Red Lion still have until 23 May to buy shares.

Second Open Day - 3 May

The second share offer Open Day is being held in Sidbury Village Hall this Saturday, 3 May. The Open Day is from 10.00 am until 4.00 pm.

It is an opportunity to come along and have a look at the plans for altering and refurbishing the Red Lion. The architect who has been working on these plans for Sidbury Community Enterprises will be at the Open Day over the lunchtime. A computer generated drawing of how the pub might look is set out below.

Come along and have a look at the plans, ask about what sort of pub we want the Red Lion to be in the future and ask questions about the share offer.

Some Frequently Asked Share Offer Questions

With the share offer underway some questions have been asked which we think are worth sharing in case they are going through your mind too!

Why did you start this Campaign? In April 2013 the pub’s owner put the pub up for sale. Many local residents were concerned that this could lead to the pub being bought by someone who might have wanted to turn it into a house or flats. Others were concerned that if it could not be sold then the owner, Punch Taverns, might just leave the property empty.

The Campaign to retain the pub started on 19 May after over 60 residents met and agreed to start the Campaign. The Steering Group which has run the Campaign was voted in at that meeting. The consensus at the meeting was that we had to do all that we could to retain the pub.

Why did you decide to try to buy the Red Lion? After about 6 months of campaigning to retain the pub it was very clear that there was no one who had approached the estate agent with an interest in buying the pub. So the Steering Group decided that it ought to investigate whether it could realistically buy it as a community pub. This was explained at the public meeting in mid-September.

Even when we reached an agreement in mid-March with Punch Taverns to buy the pub it was clear that no one else had taken steps to try to buy the pub. We could have sat back and done nothing. If we had then we could have been criticised for possibly allowing the pub to close.

Why do you think that you can make a go of the Red Lion as a successful business when others haven’t in recent times? We think that there are a number of reasons why the pub has not been as successful as it perhaps could have been in recent times. The two main reasons are that the pub has not had any meaningful investment made in it and there has not been a vision for developing the pub.

This is why we have taken a lot of time to employ professional advisers and those who understand the local pub trade to advise us. We have determined, through our published Vision Statement, what we want the pub to be in the future, and we have committed to investing over £100,000 into altering and refurbishing the pub. It is a long time since this sort of money was spent on it. We believe that by having worked all of this through we can create a pub business that customers will want to regularly support.

What does a community orientated and owned pub really mean? The vision is for the Red Lion to be more than just the village pub. We want to use it to do things that the village can use. This includes creating a café during the morning and afternoons. There is nothing like this in the village. We envisage it being open at lunchtimes as a pub and therefore it will be able to sell lunches. Again, this is not available 7 days a week in the village.

We will also try to maximise the use of the whole of the pub during the daytime and the evenings. In particular we think that the skittle alley, when it is not being used for skittle games, can be offered for community related activities e.g. a mother and toddler club or a youth club. Perhaps we can provide a service where you can collect (and possibly send) your parcels to and from companies such as Amazon etc.

So, it will be community orientated as the pub will be offered for wider community use and it will be community owned through a wide share ownership. One thing it won’t be is community run! It will be run on a day to day basis by a professional landlord/landlady.

Aren’t you going to turn the Red Lion into a “gastro” pub?  We are not going to turn the Red Lion into a “gastro” pub. We believe that customers want to eat food that is of good quality in a real village pub environment. By committing to producing good quality locally sourced food does not mean “gastro”. We believe that providing good quality meat, game, fish and vegetables doesn’t have to be the same as providing a “gastro” menu.

We want to retain a broad set of customers who want to keep coming to eat and drink in the pub. This has been done before in the Red Lion and can be done again.

What will happen to the existing Red Lion landlord if you buy the pub? Punch Taverns told us some time ago that the landlord had been informed that if the pub was sold (to anyone) then his tenancy would come to an end. We are told that this is normal practice. If Sidbury Community Enterprises buys the Red Lion then it will probably close it for a short while in order to refurbish it and will then look to employ a tenant to run the pub. Anyone will be able to apply to be the tenant at that point.

Why will you close the pub once you buy it? Alterations to the pub are needed to make better use of the space and refurbishment of the property throughout is required. We plan to spend about £100,000 on this in the first instance. No significant investment in the pub has been made by any owner for many years and the pub, like all properties, needs a bit of TLC.

If you have any questions about the share offer or the plans for a future Red Lion business please don’t hesitate to pose them to us.

Today's Successful First Share Offer Open Day

Almost 70 residents from Sidbury, Sidford & Sidmouth came along to today's first of two Share Offer Open Days in Sidbury Village Hall. Great to get such positive feedback to the architect's plans, computer generated illustrations and artist's impressions of the planned refurbishment to the Red Lion which Sidbury Community Enterprises would undertake.

The next Open Day will be held in the Village Hall on Saturday 3 May (10.00 am -  4.00 pm).

If we can work out how to upload our photos these will follow!

Share Offer Open Days - 25 April & 3 May

Sidbury Community Enterprises Share Offer

Open Days - 25 April & 3 May

To support Sidbury Community Enterprises’ community share offer to purchase the Red Lion in Sidbury, it is holding two Open Days on Friday 25 April and Saturday 3 May. The Open days will be held between 10.00am and 4.00pm in Sidbury Village Hall.

The Open Days will allow residents and prospective investors to discuss the share offer, which has a target of raising at least £200,000 by 23 May, and to see what refurbishments Sidbury Community Enterprises are planning to undertake at the Red Lion.

Sidbury Community Enterprises have commissioned an architect to create drawings and floor plans which will both upgrade the pub and to redesign key parts of its ground floor bar and restaurant areas. A copy of one of the architect’s drawings showing a potential redesign proposal is attached for use in your newspaper.

Sidbury Community Enterprises’ Chair Fred Burnett said – “these two Open Days will give the public an opportunity to fully understand why we are trying to raise funds through this community share offer and to also see what our ideas are for upgrading and redesigning the public areas of the Red Lion. We are incredibly enthused with the proposals for how we can redesign the pub and we hope that these Open Days will also enthuse people in Sidbury and the Sid Valley to support our share offer and to become investors in this unique and exciting venture to give the Red Lion back its roar”.

Fred Burnett added – “Anyone who is interested in understanding more about how our village pub could be improved and how Sidbury Community Enterprises intends to develop the Red Lion and support our local community is very welcome to attend these Open Days. If they also bring their cheque books and purchase shares then that will be a real and much welcomed bonus”.

At the two Open days there will be architect’s floor plans and drawings showing some ideas as to how the Red Lion could be refurbished and redesigned. In addition there also will be various artist impressions as to how the Red Lion might look in the future after it has been upgraded.

Also at the Open Days will be the architect who Sidbury Community Enterprises has commissioned, and also present will be the carpenter who has designed the replacement windows that the Red Lion will have as part of its upgrade.

No Expenses Spared Launch Of Share Offer!

Some of the Management Committee of Sidbury Community Enterprises launching the share offer –

More BBC Interest In Share Offer Launch

Sidbury Community Enterprises share launch on 14 April was meant to have been reported in BBC TV West’s evening Spotlight programme. In preparation for this we were interviewed that morning in Sidbury by the BBC’s reporter Lee Rundell. We were also meant to be interviewed live on BBC TV West’s lunchtime news programme but unfortunately the reporter and cameraman had to go to Tiverton to cover the breaking story of a fire in a pub there that is up for sale! What irony!

So, all that we have left are our memories. Here’s Sidbury Community Enterprises Chair Fred Burnett being interviewed by Lee –

BBC Interest In Share Offer Launch

Sidbury Community Enterprises share launch on 14 April was carried extensively on BBC Radio Devon, with a live interview being conducted from the radio station’s Exeter studios at around 8.15am. This is the studio that the interview came from –

2 Ways To Buy Sidbury Community Enterprises Shares

Sidbury Community Enterprises shares to fund the community purchase of the Red Lion can be bought securely online at –

http://www.microgenius.org.uk/project/red-lion-inn-sidbury-east-devon-21

No money will be debited from your bank account until the share offer has successfully reached its target figure.

You can also send a cheque made payable to “Sidbury Community Enterprises Limited” to – The Treasurer, Sidbury Community Enterprises, West Barn, Northcombe Farm, Salcombe Regis, EX1- 0JQ. Your cheque will not be cashed until the share offer has successfully reached its target figure.

Don’t delay, invest today!

Help to give the Red Lion back its roar!

Today - Share Offer Launched To Buy Red Lion

Sidbury Community Enterprises Launches Community Share Offer! £200,000 Share Offer Target

Sidbury Community Enterprises has set a share offer target which it needs to hit within 5 weeks in order to purchase the Red Lion Inn, in picturesque Sidbury village in East Devon. If it achieves its target Sidbury Community Enterprises will be the first community owned pub within East Devon which under the 2012 Localism Act has been listed as an Asset of Community Value.

Sidbury Community Enterprises has today launched a £200,000 community share offer that closes on 23 May, and has also published its community share offer prospectus http://sites.google.com/site/thepubinthevillage/SCELShareProspectus.pdf.

Sidbury Community Enterprises is determined to give the Red Lion back its roar!

Save The Red Lion Campaign has been campaigning for the past 11 months to ensure that the Red Lion is retained as it is the only remaining pub in Sidbury for the local community. To support this, last November the Campaign registered Sidbury Community Enterprises as a community benefit limited company which could purchase the Red Lion.

Before Sidbury Community Enterprises felt confident enough to make an offer to purchase the pub it invested time, energy and some limited funds in creating a business plan that demonstrates that the Red Lion can be turned into a successful village pub. As part of its business planning process Sidbury Community Enterprises employed a property valuer, a building surveyor a quantity surveyor and an architect. This was to ensure that it knew what the realistic sale price really was, as well as identifying what work is required to be undertaken to upgrade and improve the property and the costs associated with these works.

At the same time Sidbury Community Enterprises worked through with both a business adviser and pub trade professionals the potential income, expenditure and profitability of a future Red Lion business. Sidbury Community Enterprises also produced its vision for a future Red Lion which we produced and widely circulated in February (accessible at) http://sites.google.com/site/thepubinthevillage/Feb2014VisionStatement.doc.

As a result of all of this work Sidbury Community Enterprises is confident that it has a sound business plan http://sites.google.com/site/thepubinthevillage/SCELBusinessPlan.pdf    that will return the Red Lion to being a successful and much used village pub. The Red Lion will trade on quality beverages, food and accommodation. It will also introduce greater opportunities for customers to enjoy it, and we will introduce a cafe within the pub providing a much needed additional local facility.

Sidbury Community Enterprises’ Chair Fred Burnett, in launching the community share offer, said – “We have a vision that a future Red Lion business will be more than just a successful village pub. Since the outset of the campaign to retain the Red Lion the objective has been to retain it as a community asset. Our vision shows that we want the pub to be at the heart of the community. We want to support and work with local community groups and events. We also want to use the pub as a base from which new services can be provided to the community. Being a community centred pub is key to our ethos and future success”.

The Red Lion’s owner Punch Taverns has agreed to sell the pub to Sidbury Community Enterprises freehold for £190,000, which is significantly below its asking price of £295,000.

In order to afford to purchase the Red Lion, as well as to refurbish it and provide for the new business’s start up costs, Sidbury Community Enterprises will need to obtain a mortgage and raise funds through a community share offer.

Sidbury Community Enterprises is in the process of obtaining a mortgage and so we are now turning our attention to raising the funds required from the community share offer. This share offer needs to raise at least £200,000. We say “at least” because if we do not manage to raise this full amount then it is highly unlikely that we will proceed with the purchase of the Red Lion. The total amount of funds required to purchase, refurbish and provide the start up costs have been set at a level which Sidbury Community Enterprises believes are the minimum required to realistically create a viable business. Hence the reason why we have set a minimum amount that we need to arise through the share offer.

If the share offer exceeds its minimum target then Sidbury Community Enterprises will consider either reducing the size of its mortgage or increasing the refurbishment works that it can undertake.

To promote the share offer Sidbury Community Enterprises is holding two open days in Sidbury Village Hall on Friday 25 April and Saturday 3 May.

These will be opportunities for the local community and anyone interested in this community venture to find out more about the share offer, as well as an opportunity to better understand what Sidbury Community Enterprises intends to do with the Red Lion. We hope to have some initial illustrations of how we intend to alter parts of the pub’s interior. So please come along if you can.

We are asking all those who visit this site to invest in this exciting community venture. The share offer is open for just under 5 weeks, closing on Friday 23 May. Details about the offer are set out in the prospectus. As issues arise we will be posting answers to frequently asked questions on our blog http://thepubinthevillage.blogspot.com, so keep visiting it during the period of the share offer.

Please also let you family and friends know about Sidbury Community Enterprises’ plans for a future Red Lion and, if you are as enthusiastic about this community venture as we are, encourage them to invest, as every £50 (or more) counts! If there is anything in relation to the share offer or the plans for a future Red Lion business that you want to know, then there are contact details within the share offer prospectus. Do not hesitate to contact us.

Together we can give the Red Lion back its roar!

Share Offer Launch Countdown - 1 Day!

Countdown to Sidbury Community Enterprises’ community share offer launch on 14 April 2014 to purchase the Red Lion Inn, Sidbury, East Devon -

1 Day

v Share offer prospectuses will be delivered to residents across Sidbury

v Share offer closes 23 May

v Shares can be bought in £50 denominations

v Come to the Share offer Open Days:

Ø Sidbury Village Hall

Ø Friday 25 April

Ø Saturday 3 May

Ø 10.00 am – 4.00pm

v Your opportunity to give the Red Lion Back its roar!

Detail at http://thepubinthevillage.blogspot.com

Share Offer Launch Countdown - 2 Days!

Countdown to Sidbury Community Enterprises’ community share offer launch on 14 April 2014 to purchase the Red Lion Inn, Sidbury, East Devon   -

2 Days

v Share offer prospectuses will be delivered to residents across Sidbury

v Share offer closes 23 May

v Shares can be bought in £50 denominations

v Come to the Share offer Open Days:

Ø Sidbury Village Hall

Ø Friday 25 April

Ø Saturday 3 May

Ø 10.00 am – 4.00pm

v Your opportunity to give the Red Lion Back its roar!

Detail at http://thepubinthevillage.blogspot.com

BBC & Sidmouth Herald Share Launch Coverage

A quick update on local & Regional press coverage of Sidbury Community Enterprises’ share offer launch, taking place this coming Monday, 14 April.

Today the share launch has been covered in the latest edition of the Sidmouth Herald. In it, on page 14, there is a half page report and advert for the share offer and the Open Days on 25 April & 3 May.

Now BBC South West has picked up on the story of the share offer launch. On Monday morning’s BBC Radio Devon’s Breakfast programme we are due to be interviewed live in their studios at about 7.05am.

This radio broadcast is due to be followed with coverage in Monday evening’s BBC television‘s Spotlight programme.

To misquote the phrase from the Swinging 60’s “Tune in, but don’t drop out”.

Watch out for the share offer prospectus that will be dropping through doors across Sidbury over this weekend.

Share Offer Launch Countdown - 3 Days!

Countdown to Sidbury Community Enterprises’ community share offer launch on 14 April 2014 to purchase the Red Lion Inn, Sidbury, East Devon -

3 Days

v Share offer prospectuses will be delivered to residents across Sidbury
v Share offer closes 23 May
v Shares can be bought in £50 denominations
v Come to the Share offer Open Days:

Ø Sidbury Village Hall

Ø Friday 25 April

Ø Saturday 3 May

  Ø 10.00 am – 4.00pm
v Your opportunity to give the Red Lion Back its roar!
   Detail at http://thepubinthevillage.blogspot.com

Share Offer Launch Countdown - 4 Days!

Countdown to Sidbury Community Enterprises’ community share offer launch on 14 April 2014 to purchase the Red Lion Inn, Sidbury, East Devon -

4 Days

v Share offer prospectuses will be delivered to residents across Sidbury
v Share offer closes 23 May
v Shares can be bought in £50 denominations
v Come to the Share offer Open Days:

Ø Sidbury Village Hall

Ø Friday 25 April

Ø Saturday 3 May

Ø 10.00 am – 4.00pm

v Your opportunity to give the Red Lion Back its roar!

   Detail at http://thepubinthevillage.blogspot.com

The Exeter Daily Reports Agreed Red Lion Sale

Online newspaper The Exeter Daily reports on agreed sale of Red Lion at -

http://www.theexeterdaily.co.uk/news/local-news/sidbury-community-enterprises%E2%80%99-purchase-will-give-red-lion-back-its-roar

Pulmans View's Excellent Coverage Of Campaign's Latest

Many thanks to this week’s Pulmans View from Sidmouth for the excellent and extensive coverage of the agreement by Punch Taverns to sell the Red Lion to Sidbury Community Enterprises. Pulmans’ coverage starts on its front page under the banner headline “Campaigners have agreed a deal to save Red Lion pub”.

Whilst Pulmans View’s story continues on page 4 the story of the campaign to retain the Red Lion is addressed in the newspaper’s editorial on page 3 under the editor’s very supportive comments headed “Fancy owning a pub?”

Pulmans View has, all the way through the campaign been incredibly supportive of the aims and objectives that it has striven to achieve.

Pulmans view’s coverage can be read at -

http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?pbid=b553c14a-f023-4ec6-a5ac-b9d745b0d550

Puublicans Morning Advertiser Reports Red Lion Agreed Sale

Today the Publicans Morning Advertiser reported the agreed sale of the Red Lion in a story headlined Punch agrees to sell Red Lion in Sidbury to community”. The report is at – http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/General-News/Punch-agrees-to-sell-Red-Lion-in-Sidbury-to-community

Red Lion's Real Asking Price

Whilst it’s great to once again get good coverage in today’s Sidmouth Herald (page 11) of Sidbury Community Enterprises’ attempts to purchase the Red Lion, unfortunately it grossly inflated the asking price that Punch Taverns had placed on the pub!

To set the record straight Punch Taverns were asking £295,000 and not £790,000 for the Red Lion. As the forthcoming share offer prospectus will show, the agreed sale price is significantly below the real asking price and way below the Sidmouth Herald’s reported price!

If the asking price for the Red Lion had been £790,000 as erroneously reported then the Campaign to retain it would never have got off the ground!

Today's Express & Echo Report On Red Lion Sale

Sidbury pub sale could bring back Red Lion’s roar
Thanks to the Express & Echo for today covering, under the above headline, the agreement by Punch Taverns to sell the Red Lion to Sidbury Community Enterprises.

The story is at -

http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Sidbury-pub-sale-bring-Red-Lion-8217-s-roar/story-20847127-detail/story.html

Today's Western Morning News Report

Pub sale could bring back the Red Lion's roar

Under the above headline today’s Western Morning News carries a report on Punch Taverns decision to agree to sell the Red Lion to Sidbury Community Enterprises.

The report is accessible at -

http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Pub-sale-bring-Red-Lion-s-roar/story-20848694-detail/story.html

Red Lion Purchase - Sale Agreed

Agreement reached for Sidbury Community Enterprises to buy Red Lion pub, Sidbury

Sidbury Community Enterprises is excited to announce that the Red Lion pub in Sidbury looks set to become the first pub in East Devon which having been listed as an Asset of Community Value becomes a community owned pub. The pub’s owner, Punch Taverns, placed it up for sale in April 2013 and in response to a local campaign to retain the pub its owner has now agreed to sell it to Sidbury Community Enterprises.

Once purchased the Red Lion will be owned by Sidbury Community Enterprises which is a community benefit Industrial Provident Society limited company which is run as a co-operative enterprise. 

Sidbury Community Enterprises wants to ensure that the Red Lion becomes a good quality village pub that attracts and retains regular customers. The creation of a Red Lion business has its roots in its local community. The pub will be offered for maximum community use, small or large, formal or informal occasions. Sidbury Community Enterprises intends to support community projects and organisations, as well as providing non-core services to the community.

Sidbury Community Enterprises wants to create opportunities for families, youth and older residents to all see the Red Lion as a social space that they can all share beyond using it for the traditional pub offerings. We will work with community organisations to develop these opportunities. Sidbury Community Enterprises sees the opportunity for our wider community to use the space that the pub has to offer, particularly at times when it is underused.

The next steps in purchasing the Red Lion will be raising the funds need not only to buy it, but also in providing the start up costs for the new Red Lion business, as well funding the refurbishment works required to bring the pub up to acceptable trading standards.

Sidbury Community Enterprises will therefore be launching its community share offer in the next few weeks. Anyone interested in supporting this community initiative will be able to invest up to £20,000 in buying shares at £50 each. Details of this share offer will be

published in April.

In welcoming this exciting milestone in the creation of East Devon’s first community owned pub Chair of Sidbury Community Enterprises, Fred Burnett said “From the very start of our campaign to retain the Red Lion for our local community, under the banner of Save The Red Lion Campaign, a great deal of hard work has gone into being sure that we can make the Red Lion a profitable enterprise.”

Fred Burnett continued “We have a solid business plan and this has allowed us to determine what we think the Red Lion is worth and what we can afford to pay for it. We are very pleased to have agreed a purchase price that is below what the owner has been asking for it. We need the community in Sidbury, and the wider Sid Valley, to now open their wallets and purses in order to raise the funds we need to establish a new Red Lion business.”

“We really need everyone to buy as many shares as they can in the new Red Lion business because if we cannot raise all the money needed in the next couple of months then we will not be able to purchase the pub. In those circumstances this community focused venture will not happen. We need local people to help us give the Red Lion back its roar.”

A share offer prospectus will be published next month and anyone who is interested in knowing about the share offer or what Sidbury Community Enterprises plans are for a new Red Lion business will be able to come along to two open days that are planned to be held in Sidbury village hall on Friday 25 April and Saturday 3 May. Please put these dates in your calendar now!

Details of the new Red Lion business share offer will be published next month and anyone who wants details of it, or Sidbury Community Enterprises’ recently published vision for revitalising the pub, should contact thepubinthevillage@gmail.com or visit the blog at http://thepubinthevillage.blogspot.com.

Thank you for all of your support to date. Please support our ambitious share offer that will be announced in the next few weeks.

Red Lion Purchase - Almost There

We are very pleased to inform you that Punch Taverns have positively responded to Sidbury Community Enterprises’ offer to purchase the Red Lion. This offer has been the subject to a number of discussions with Punch Taverns in recent weeks and we have now arrived at the point where we expect to receive a formal acceptance during the next week.

Whilst this is a very significant point in the campaign that has been running since last May and has been achieved by a lot of hard work by members of the Steering Group and other who have advised it, there still remains much more to be done to actually reach an outright purchase of the pub.

A large amount of funding now needs to be raised in order to reach a point whereby the pub’s ownership can transfer to Sidbury Community Enterprises. Over forthcoming weeks details of this will be circulated across the village and within the Sid Valley. Achieving the successful ownership of the Red Lion will require obtaining a mortgage and/or loans, as well as raising funds through a share offer.

Work is under way in discussing with a commercial lender the terms of a potential mortgage. In addition we will be launching a share offer which will allow individuals or organisations to invest between £50 and £20,000 in Sidbury Community Enterprises. We are working out the timetable for promoting this and will publicise it in the coming weeks. Equally, we are open to offers from any individuals or organisations which are willing to make a loan to Sidbury Community Enterprises, either on a short term or longer term basis.

We have issued our vision for turning the Red Lion into a community village pub for Sidbury and its community, and we have received some positive feedback to this, along with some excellent ideas about using the pub for broader community based activities. With the expectation that Punch Taverns will soon formally accept our offer, we have to turn all of attention to raising the funds to purchase the pub, funding the start-up costs of the new business and undertaking the necessary upgrading works to the pub.

Without strong local support in purchasing shares in the new Red Lion business this project will falter at the final hurdle. Please actively support the share offer once it is announced in the forthcoming weeks. We need your investments and your continuing support.

Please respond positively to our share offer in forthcoming weeks as we cannot let this exciting opportunity slip from our grasp.