We’ve got a vision for the Hare and Hounds. Owned by the community. Run for the community.
Meeting your mates on a Saturday night? Want to warm your hands on a roaring fire on a wintry Thursday afternoon? The door’s open – come on in.
Looking to take the weight off with a cold lager after a long walk? Need a place to catch up with your knitting group and a cup of tea? You’ve come to the right place.
But we need to buy the pub first. We’re exploring various grants and loans – get in touch if you know of anything we should investigate.
The future of the Hare and Hounds as a community pub lives or dies on the community share offer.
That’s where you come in.
Not sure how a community share offer works? Let’s remedy that.
What is a community share offer?
What are the benefits of investing?
When will the community share offer go live?
What is a community share offer?
Have you ever dreamt of owning a pub? Now’s your chance. Our community share offer will let you become a part-owner of the Hare and Hounds.
Anyone over the age of 16 with a UK bank account can invest when our offer goes live. That’s right: invest. Not donate. The money you put towards our offer (minimum £100) becomes your share of our beloved pub.
Funds will be held in a secure bank account until the pub changes hands. If our purchase attempt fails for any reason, the money you invested will be transferred back to you. All of it.
Although the amount people invest will vary, each investor will receive a single vote. So, decisions taken at the AGM will be made on a one member, one vote basis. You can rest assured the new-look Hare and Hounds will always be run in the interests of local people.
Community shares are withdrawable, non-transferable share capital. But what does that actually mean?
- Withdrawable – you can withdraw the money you invest in the Hare and Hounds. There will be a period of time (likely 3-5 years) from when we purchase the pub where we restrict withdrawals, but we’ll notify owner-members about opportunities to withdraw funds when this ends. You’ll be able to see exact details in the share offer prospectus when it goes live.
- Non-transferable – unlike shares listed on the stock market, community shares cannot be sold, traded or given to another individual. However, you can nominate an individual who will receive the shares upon your death.
You can read more about community shares on the Co-ops UK website.
What are the benefits of investing?
This isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. It’s a get-our-pub-back scheme.
The main benefit is securing the future of the Hare and Hounds as a wonderful community pub. If all goes well, you could be sipping a pint of real ale and admiring the lovely views by the end of the year.
And as a part-owner, you’ll even have a say in how it’s run.
But that doesn’t mean there are no financial incentives:
- Community shares are interest-bearing – when funds are available, you might receive an interest payment based on a percentage of your investment.
- Your investment may be eligible for tax relief – a percentage of what you invest could be deductible from your tax bill.
You can read more about interest and tax relief in our Community Share Offer FAQ.
What are the risks?
- Your capital is at risk – the value of your investment in the pub cannot go up, but it can go down.
- Community shares are unregulated – the money you invest isn’t covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and you have no recourse to the Ombudsman.
But there are good reasons to be confident in your investment.
According to James Alcock, Plunkett UK chief executive, community owned pubs have an incredible long-term survival rate of around 99%. Why is that?
It’s simple: they reflect what local people want because they’re run by local people. It’s a recipe for success.
Also, we’re applying for the Community Shares Standard Mark. This is awarded by Co-ops UK to community share offers that meet the highest standards. The aim is to give investors trust and confidence that the share offer is being run the right way.
We’ll share details with you if and when our application is successful – fingers crossed!
When will the community share offer go live?
All being well, we’ll launch the community share offer in mid-July 2026.
However, it’s still early days. There are a lot of elements that need to come together, not all of which are in our control. We’re working as quickly as we can whilst ensuring we base our decisions on hard evidence and community consultation.
Before the offer goes live, we need to get an idea of how much money we are likely to raise from the community share offer. Please can you fill in the below survey even if you have given us a pledge already. This survey supersedes the previous one.
Want to be the first to hear more details about our community share offer? Sign up to our mailing list for regular updates in your inbox.