Introducing Community Shares Slide sub-title if there is one
What do these shots have in common? Slide sub-title if there is one
What are Community Shares? Slide sub-title if there is one
“The sale of shares in enterprises serving a community purpose, with the aim of raising at least £10,000 in capital from no fewer than 20 members”
POWERED BY WITHDRAWABLE SHARE CAPITAL Unique to cooperative and community benefit societies
Nontransferable, nominal
One Member One Vote
Exempt from regulation under the FSMA 2000
Interest payment only sufficient to attract investment
The benefits of Community Shares
“Community shares can give members meaningful involvement in the running of the society”
Operation
“Community share offers can lever further funding based on the ‘first move’ of the community”
Governance
“Community shares offers can provide long-term risk capital linked to the performance of the society”
Leverage
Capital
Slide sub-title if there is one
Community share offers can ‘bake in’ the customer base and promote member involvement in the operation of the enterprise”
Community Shares Market: Registrations Slide sub-title if there is one 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Community Shares Market: 2009 – 2012 stats Slide sub-title if there is one Over 300 new Over 120 share societies offers completed registered
Est. £20m raised from over 20,000 members
Average offer raised £210,000
Regeneration Sports and land-use 3% 6%
Average membership 240 members
Average investment per member £900
Pubs and brewing 16%
Community shop and other retail 22%
Food and farming 6%
Renewable energy 47%
Key pillars of a successful share offer Slide sub-title if there is one
Business model
Community engagement
Governance
Offer document
Viable
Scale and scope
Legal form
Accurate
Profitable
Attracting support
Rules
Informative
Sustainable
Building membership
Conduct
Share offer ‘campaign’
Case Study: Bell Inn, Bath Slide sub-title if there is one
An iconic pub in central Bath suddenly came up for sale as the owners were retiring
A strong community of regulars, musicians and local residents were determined to preserve the ethos of the pub – they had 12 weeks to organise a community buyout In this short period, the community raised £750,000 and secured mainstream debt finance to meet the overall purchase price of nearly £1m The Bell Inn is a viable business which will enable interest payments to shareholders, alongside facility for withdrawals
Introducing the Community Shares Unit Slide sub-title if there is one
DCLG-funded programme until March 2015
Partnership between Co-operatives UK and Locality (building on an action-learning research programme)
A resource for: • Communities looking to develop share offers • Supporters exploring the community shares market • Intermediaries, practitioners and advisers involved in comshares
Areas of Support Slide sub-title if there is one Market development
Advice and support
Market intelligence
Comms
Quality assurance
Market Intelligence Slide sub-title if there is one
Regularly updated directory of registrations, share offers and annual returns
Searchable and exportable data
Forms the basis for more in-depth research into the development of community shares market
Guidance and Assurance Slide sub-title if there is one Consolidation of all advice materials to form Community Shares Handbook
Collaboratively developed with practitioners through an online platform
Oversight from a technical committee of government representatives and FCA
Regularly updated and monitored to ensure relevancy and accuracy
Communications: e.g. website Slide sub-title if there is one
Tailored resources: enterprises, supporters, advisers
Directory of share offers
Secure practitioners area
Forums and FAQs
New case studies
Links to helpful organisations
Advice and support: e.g. Microgenius Slide sub-title if there is one
Technological tool for both enterprises and supporters
Secure payment facility
Shareholder register
Social media and online presence
Linkage to One Click – online governance
Market Development Slide sub-title if there is one
By sector: exploring the use of community shares in new and emerging markets such as heritage, housing, media and transport
By geography: developing a ‘hub and spoke’ model for a UK-wide CSU which works alongside the devolved nations
By audience: engaging new and promising audiences such as local authorities, CDFIs and charities
Slide sub-title if there is one
www.communityshares.org.uk www.microgenius.org.uk communityshares@uk.coop