Frequently Asked Questions
Taking ownership of The Lamb Inn for the community is an exciting – and daunting – opportunity. Talking to people both in the village and beyond, it is clear that there are a lot of questions on everyone’s lips about how it will all work.
It is important to us to keep everyone informed with our progress and our plans, so if you have a query, hopefully you will find an answer here. If not, then make sure you Ask Us and will do our best to answer it!
What is a Community Benefit society?
A Community Benefit Society (CBS) is an organisation conducting an industry, business or trade for the benefit of the community. It is a corporate body registered under the Cooperative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 and authorised by the FCA. It is registered as a Limited Company and although it will appear on the register at Companies House, the FCA manages annual returns and accounts.
A CBS provides services for the community as well as its members, and pre-tax trading profit can be reinvested in the enterprise, used to pay interest to shareholders (members of the Society) or distributed for social or charitable purposes in accordance with the rules. It is a democratic structure that encourages a large membership and empowers communities by giving members a direct say in the management of the enterprise through the elected committee.
Are there restrictions to becoming a member?
Other than the requirement to purchase shares in order to become a member, the only restriction on becoming a member is that you must be at least 18 years of age
How can I help?
In order to raise enough money to purchase the Lamb Inn we need your continued support to spread the word about the Keep The Lamb Inn Campaign. This could look like:
● Sharing our posts of social media
● Talking to your friends and family about the campaign
● Support our fundraising events (including helping us run them)
In addition, we are always looking for anyone who would like to support with our ‘behind the scenes’ work, whether you are a skilled marketer, grant writer, fundraiser, or just have some spare time to get stuck in to support the campaign, please reach out to us on our ‘Contact Us’ page
Is a Community Owned Pub like any other pub?
Community owned pubs are not like any other privately owned pub, this is because community pubs are owned by their Members and are democratically run on the basis of one Member, one Vote. Membership is voluntary, affordable, and open to all in a community, and is a mechanism which ensures that the community has a genuine say over how the business is run.
How will the Community owned Lamb Inn work with the community?
Through our community share offer we will not only be raising the necessary funds to purchase and run the Lamb Inn successfully, but we will also be creating our pool of members, all of whom will have a say in the day to day running of the business upon purchase.
By purchasing shares during our share offer you will become a member of the Lamb Inn Community Society Limited (the Community Benefit Society we will be purchasing the pub with), and you will, as a member, have voting rights regarding the running of the business. In addition, during our fundraising efforts we will continue to engage our local and wider community to ensure that the needs and wants of our community are represented within our business plan
