LATEST NEWS

THE PUB HAS BEEN SOLD - TO ANOTHER BUYER

We have been notified by the Seller’s Agent, Sidney Phillips, that another buyer has purchased the Old Boot Inn, and that the sale was completed on 18 March 2022.

The purchaser is a Mr K B Evans, who has acquired the property through his company, Choicecircle Ltd., which is based in Rugby.

We have told him that we are a Community Benefit Society set up with the aim of securing the future of the pub, and that we are naturally keen to know more of his plans.

• What plans he has to upgrade the pub – kitchen and toilets, internal layout etc?

• When he plans to install a tenant and re-open?

We have also expressed the hope that these plans can match the expectations of the village for their pub, and so ensure its success.

Our mission remains to continue to have a quality pub in the village.

Payments by cheque

To all our supporters who paid by cheque - just a reminder that we are now cashing them before they expire, after 6 months from the date they were written. We notifed all our supporters by email in November but a further reminder, just after Christmas, seemed appropriate.

It is important that we add the funds to our bank account, to demonstrate to the Community Ownership Fund assessors that we have the full amount of £250,000, in order to qualify for the maximum amount of match funding.

Thank you again for your fantastic and ongoing support - we couldn't do it without you!

What happens next?

The Government has delayed the second round of the Community Ownership Fund until the Spring.

We are analysing the available details of the small number of successful pub bids from the first round, to identify how we need to improve our next application.

We are also carefully watching for new criteria being introduced.

In the meantime, the share offer is still open.

We are determined to continue the fight to realise our vision for a community pub for the village.

You have shown that you support this by your purchase of shares.

Rest assured that we will do our best to make it come true.

Good things don’t come easily, but we continue to believe that we can do this!

If your gift is to a person under 18

If your gift is to a person over 18

Next steps...

This offer is for NEW SHARE PURCHASERS ONLY.

All share purchases are subject to the terms and conditions of the share offer, as explained in the share prospectus, and are conditional on the purchase of the pub.

RECENT ACTIVITY

We have moved the banner from the pub wall to the fence adjacent to the shop car park.

We are keen to let the village community know that we are still trying to get the Community Ownership Fund grant and will reapply when the next round opens in December 2021.

FINANCIAL POSITION

We had hoped to be giving good news that we had raised sufficient funds to buy the pub and had obtained the funding we requested from the government’s Community Ownership Fund.

The reality is that neither is yet true.

With your help we have raised an amazing £264,000, which still leaves us £46,000 short of being able to buy the pub.

Our bid for £250,000 from the Community Ownership Fund has not been successful in the first round. We have learned that, of the 150 grant applications only 5 pubs were successful and only £5 million of the £150 million (3%) has been allocated! This leaves a further £145 million to bid for, and the next round is starting in December, so we will reapply. Meanwhile we are making contact with experts who have experience in this field to try to discover how we need to improve our bid to be successful next time.

This is a setback, but from the experience of other community pub purchases, is far from unusual. Most take at least two years and all have hurdles to overcome along the way, so we are encouraged to persevere. The team remains positive and intends to press on.

Our next steps are as follows:

How much money do we still need to raise? 

We have applied to the government Community Ownership Fund for up to £250,000 of match funding. We therefore have to raise at least £250,000 to enable us to be eligible for the full amount.

But it doesn’t stop there – we need £275,000 to buy the pub. The price we agreed to pay based on our valuation.

But it doesn’t stop there –– we need a further £25,000 for stamp duty and legal fees to buy the pub. So we need £300,000

But it doesn’t stop there –– we need a further £200,000 to produce the pub the village deserves, with three phase electricity supply, new kitchen equipment and extraction, new toilets, disabled access, improved internal layout, improved decoration etc.

Waiting for the crowds to descend upon us.

Who could resist this salesman?

What a great turn out for the Wellie Pub Fest!

We hope the day reminded everyone how good it is to have a pub in the village.

We’re pleased to announce that we are over halfway to our target,

thanks to all who have already purchased shares.

The Wellie Pub Fest on Saturday 28 August was a huge success, enjoyed by all, but feedback suggested that people need more time to help us reach our target.

We know that many villagers have had the details of the share offer and have still to complete their purchase. In order to give more people time to buy shares,

we’ve extended the share offer beyond 4 September.

We are very grateful for all those who have purchased their share so far;

please can we encourage those who have not yet subscribed to

complete and return their application forms?

Please encourage your friends and neighbours to do the same.

Although we have made applications to other sources of funds,

we will not know the result of these for some weeks.

In the meantime, it is vital that we raise enough in share purchases to buy the pub.

The terms of the share offer as explained in the Share Prospectus will remain the same and the application forms available either in printed form or online via the website can still be used.

The Business Plan, Share Prospectus and Share Application Forms can be downloaded

from the Documents Page of this website.

All online bank transfers have been processed to date.

Cheques received will be held securely until we have reached our target

and will then be paid into our bank account.

All share applications are being processed - and recorded onto our secure database.

When we have reached our target and bought the pub we will issue share certificates.

Saturday - 4 September - Community Centre - 12.00 noon to 4.00 pm.

Team members were available to explain the project and answer any questions. Thanks to all those who bought shares at the Fete.

We are live-streaming our public meeting and you can watch it on YouTube by clicking on this link - HERE

Would you like to see and hear what went on?

Please copy this passcode Wdv?2K!! and then CLICK THIS LINK and paste the passcode into the browser.

The Old Boot has been a thriving pub in the past, attracting custom from Wellington, surrounding villages and further afield, with a deserved reputation for well-priced good food. However, more recently the pub trading has declined, and it was closed in August 2019.

The Community Wellington Inn (Herefordshire) Ltd (CWIHL) was set up in 2021 following a virtual public meeting and community engagement through leafleting and online activity with the aim of buying the pub for the community.

The Pub was registered as an Asset of Community Value in 2018, which gave the community the right to bid for its purchase. The property was put up for sale in January 2021 for £300,000.

The purpose of the CWIHL is to raise sufficient funds to be able to acquire and refurbish the Pub in Wellington for the community.

We aim to raise a total of £460,000 comprised of at least £250,000 through sale of community shares and the balance

This share offer gives local people and organisations the opportunity to buy shares and so contribute on a long-term basis, to the aims of the society to purchase, refurbish and let the pub.
Each share will have a nominal value of £50. The minimum investment is 1 share [£50] and the maximum investment is £40,000 per person or organisation. Every shareholder holds one vote and equal voice, regardless of the number of shares held.

It’s important that you read the Share Prospectus carefully in full before deciding whether you want to subscribe for shares.

You’ll need to complete and submit a share purchase application form, which is enclosed in the share prospectus. These will be distributed and made available round the village or can be had from one of the CWIHL committee members on request, or at the Public meeting on 29 July.

You can also download it from the Documents page of this website.
Payment can be made via cheque or bank transfer; details are  on the share application form.
Individuals aged 18 and over and organisations can apply for membership by buying shares. Monies will be held on deposit by CWIHL until the share offer is fully subscribed, when they will be cashed and share certificates will be issued to all members.

Apart from the purchase of shares, we are very happy to receive donations to help buy the pub.

Please get in touch at info@wellingtonpub.org if you wish to support us in this way.

We will be distributing leaflets and flyers around the village in the coming weeks and using continuing to use social media to spread the message.

Check out our Facebook site for more news.

Find us on Facebook