I have read many comments in this forum about the closure of the local pub and the loss of it as a community facility. Well, perhaps this is the way to go. The population of Grong Grong in NSW is about 150 and their local pub was up for sale.
When these country pubs go up for sale the licence is the valuable asset and they often get bought by big city licencees who transfer the licence (and the Poker machines) to a city or bigger town.
The locals bought $5000 shares to keep the pub in their town. Good idea eh?
Its a really good idea…there are lots of community owned pubs in the UK…one not too far from me The Carlton…but I just googled and more than 50 owned by the community in the UK …good luck to them.
I would have to ask if the shareholders bought the complete freehold or just into the licenced trading business as tenets in common. My paternal grandparents were tenants of two London pubs and ran one themselves with a manging couple running the other one. To buy an actual freehold is almost impossible in and around London and the costs would be prohibitive.
I could only guess but I would say that the cheapest part is the property itself, it is the pub licence and the poker machine licence (if they have one) where the value is. The building itself is worth no more than any other commercial property in the town.
It is like a taxi licence it is not attached to the vehicle but the plates, They used to change hands for many hundreds of thousands of dollars - (not anymore Uber has seen to that.)
I think it’s a great idea.
The pub is the hub of a village or community and, if you don’t have a village hall, it is often the only public place where villagers can hold social events and gatherings.
I have visited the Community Pub in the links below quite often - the main cost of taking it over was the cost of the building, I think.
The pub had closed and stood empty for 2 years before the villagers got together and formed an Industrial and Provident Society, so that any resulting income is ploughed back into the Community project.
The bulk of the money was raised from the villagers investing in shares plus they applied for government grant aid to top it up.
The pub itself is leased to a couple who run it as tenants but the lease includes the right for the Community to use part of the premises to run the Village Library and a Community shop, staffed by volunteers. The large garden behind the pub is used for Community Allotments and some bee hives.
I love stopping off at this pub if I’m out walking over there - it has such a great atmosphere. I think it’s a brilliant example of the benefits people can bring to their communities if they all pull together, and working together for a common goal forms deeper friendships and bonds which keeps the community together.
