As of the 1st May 2013 our shares sale is now closed. Thank you to our supporters, and looking forward to the next step of the project.
We have raised £42,650 in shares capital (from 501 shareholders) of our ambitious target of £50,000 from shares.
£42,650 85% £50,000We have raised £62,650 towards our overall target of £200,000 which we hope to raise through lots of funding raising events and from larger sponsors who share our vision.
£62,650 31% £200,000Now our shares launch is closed we will need to take some time to take stock of all the incoming orders and revise our final total which with 501 shareholders is going to take us quite a while.
Blog
The latest comings and goings at The Bevy
Pot of Gold Found in The Bevy grounds (April Fool's)
posted Mon, 01 Apr 2013 08:55:00
Warning….April Fool’s. All in fun, no harm done. We didn’t find any buried treasure in the garden but we did get everyones attention! :-) The pot of gold to open the Bevy is going to have to come from our supporters and if you like our plans then you have 30 days left to buy shares. From tomorrow we will be running a daily raffle and announcing events to the bevy month of mayhem. And no more tricks, promise. Thanks for your support and please keep sharing our news.
Planned work on The Bevy’s edible pub garden has come to a halt after a startling discovery yesterday.
Volunteers working on the Bevendean Community Pub in Moulsecoomb – set to become the first co-op pub on a housing estate in the UK - were shocked to discover a hoard of coins while digging a trench prepped for some rose bushes. Work on the gardens ground to a halt as the team carefully removed their find and placed them into am airtight lunch box. Lead volunteer, who Tony Robinson who’s namesake presents Channel 4’s Time Team said “…initially we thought we’d hit a bag of nails or some badly placed water pipes…and now I had to throw out my cheese roll to make room for the coins…”
The coins could be important archaeologically, but are no means the only find in the Bevendean. There are numerous Romano-British finds in that area, including a cremation, pottery, Bronze Age inhumation, a bracelet, and some Iron Age remnants. Early speculation is that the coins could be 2nd Century which will need to be verified.
Warren Carter, The Bevy’s Chairman remarked “…they could well be the pot of gold residents have been looking for to re-open The Bevy as a community hub….”
One Moulsecoomb resident said “…I hope they don’t turn out to be chocolate coins, because 2nd Century chocolate wouldn’t taste very nice…”
Shares for the pub are on sale till the end of the month and so far raised around £34,000 from over 390 members. Helen Jones, said “…It seems their literally is treasure at the bottom of the garden. We are a third of the way through raising the money so finding this could make all the difference….”
[The Bevy] Important news
posted Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:16:40
Firstly we have some important news!
We have extended our share issue until 30th April 2013. We have over 350 members and raised £10,700 in cash since our launch. A fantastic achievement BUT not nearly enough to start building yet. We deliberately kept shares cheap to be inclusive. But if you can afford more please do.
Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme
Because we are eligible for this amazing tax incentive anyone who is a tax payer spending a £100 or more on shares can apply for HALF of their investment back through the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme. Contact us for more details.
Share Certificates
Some people have asked why they have bought shares but received nothing in the post. We will not issue certificates until we have enough money in the bank to start our project.
This money is kept in a separate bank account and if the pub does not open people will receive a full refund (you can read about our rules and regulations in our prospectus).
Investors
We have been targeting larger investors and supportive businesses to get them on board. If you know anyone who might be interested get in touch with us!
Door Knocking
Fancy being part of our street team, talking to the residents of Moulsecoomb, Bevendean and Bates to tell them what they would be missing if we don’t make The Bevy a reality!
And finally
‘The Bevy’ is really so much more than a pub – it’s a sustainable building and a self-financing project, offering jobs, training and volunteer opportunities to all local people.
A community ‘hub’ where people can meet, eat, drink and relax and buck the trend of 18 pubs a week closing.
If we pull this off, it will be a beacon of what can be achieved by people doing it for themselves and turning passion into action.
So tell all your family, friends and colleagues to buy some shares and invest in something unique –together we can make the Bevendean a reality.
[The Bevy] Update, Tree Planting, and other upcoming events
posted Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:04:00
Hello all,
In the meantime….we need a Street Team
We are running a series of publicity and share sale events in the coming weeks to continue our hard work towards our goal, and we welcome all of our supporters to come along. Put these dates in your diary.
27th January 2013 - Tree Planting at The Bevy
We’ve been really looking forward to showing our supporters and local residents that we are serious about making The Bevy a reality and as a show of force we are starting work on The Bevy’s garden on Sunday 27th January, just a few days from now.
We will be planting roses, shrubs, wildflowers and bulbs, but also we will be planting six Sussex Fruit Trees to mark a start on our edible pub garden and make a promise of a piping hot apple crumble in the pub when the trees bear fruit.
As part of our commitment to the garden we have decided to auction a permanent dedicative plaque, one for each of the fruit trees not only to raise funds towards the pub fund but also show that we are committed to making our pub, our cafe a lasting fixture in our community’s history. The auctions have just been launched and are available here - http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/thebevy/m.html
Rest assured the snow will have cleared by then, but we will be on hand with hot drinks, spades, pickaxes and whatever you need to make this a successful day. Come along to show your support, have a chat, and buy some shares if you haven’t already. We have a survey prepared which we will have prepared for the day to get feedback and comments from our supporters and the local residents
We will be at the pub The Bevy, 50 Hillside, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 4TF from 2pm on Sunday 27th January. If you have Facebook you can mark your attendance on our Facebook event to give us an idea of numbers (so we know how much tea, coffee and hot chocolate to get in) http://www.facebook.com/events/306430629477516/, and we encourage everyone to ‘Share’ the event with their friends to help us make this a productive afternoon. Please forward this e-mail to anyone you think may be interested in joining us.
3rd February 2013 - Seedy Sunday
We are very pleased to announce that we will have a stall at Seedy Sunday 2013 will take place on Sunday 3rd February, 10am - 4.00pm and we’re very excited to announce that they have a NEW VENUE: Brighton Corn Exchange, Church Street.
Entry to Seedy Sunday is just £3, there will be more than 50 stalls, lots of talks, demonstrations and activities as well as the community seed-swap. It is open to adults and children alike. There are an expected 2,000 visitors to the event so come along and check it out. More information can be found at the Seedy Sunday website http://www.seedysunday.org/
Feel free to mark your attendance on our Facebook event and invite your friends to join us http://www.facebook.com/events/119081398261579/
More Events
We are very excited about our other upcoming events we have planned in the next few weeks including a Valentines event, and an upcoming beer festival so stay tuned and we will keep you posted. Look out for the photos of the tree planting from Sunday.
Take care.
—
The Bevy Team
—————————————————————————-
Buy someone a Pub for Valentine’s Day
January Update
posted Fri, 11 Jan 2013 10:25:51
First some fantastic news –our landlords East Brighton Trust have pledged £20,000! This means we now have £26,290 towards our target of £200,000.
We know we still have a lot of money to raise, so our pop up stalls will be appearing all over the place. We will be selling shares at the Starlight Express at the Brighton Centre this Saturday night. On Sunday we will be at Racecourse car boot sale. We have a stall at Seedy Sunday on 3rd February and will be setting up outside the Avenue shops in Moulsecoomb occasionally. If you know of other events you think we should be at let us know!
On the weekend 19-20 January we will be at the Good for Nothing winter warmer getting together with people to look at the design of the pub and ideas on how we can raise more money.
We will be planting four apple and two plum trees on Sunday 26th January as part of our plans for an edible pub garden as well as spring bulbs and wildflower seeds.
If you don’t fancy digging come along to have a chat to us about our plans over a hot bevy.
And keep an eye out for our Valentines disco extravaganza!
Our first milestone
posted Wed, 19 Dec 2012 16:39:00
In just two weeks we have raised £5100 and have 206 members. Wow! We are hoping to raise £50,000 in shares so at 10% we are on our way.
Many of these members are locals but we are also selling shares to people across Brighton and the rest of the country. We have even sold some to people in America, Canada and The Netherlands!
We need to raise 200k in total to fully open so we still have a hell of a long way to go, but the more money we raise in shares and the more members we get the easier it will be to get bank loans, grants and crowd funding.
From our stall outside Infinity it’s clear that lots of people know about our plans and want to buy a Pub/Community Hub for Christmas. We met some of the old regulars, a guy whose dad used to run it 40 years ago and one of the pubs window cleaners.
Every tenner, every member counts. Of course if you can chip in more please do and remember that if you pay tax in the UK and buy 100 quids worth or more of shares you can claim 50% back tax free!
Buy shares for yourself or as a gift.
Share Launch, our time has come.
posted Sat, 01 Dec 2012 12:59:39
The day has finally arrived, our launch day. From today shares in The Bevendean Community Pub Ltd will be made publicly available. The growing team have been working tirelessly all week to get things ship shape for tonight’s launch event.
From 6pm this evening there will be a video presentation of our mission with presentations from a few of our core committee members, followed by an evening of live music and local beers. Drinks have kindly been donated by Brighton Bier, Langhams Brewery and WJ Beer. Food has been prepared and supplied by our team. Live music featuring the talents of Chris Anderson, Mutant Mothers and Raw Deal.
From 6pm you will be able to buy shares for yourself or even as a Gift for Christmas in a few ways;
1. Come along tonight, even for half an hour to come a buy even a single share for £10. Well be at St. Andrews Church, Hillside, Moulsecoob from 6pm this evening.
2. Visit our website http://www.thebevy.co.uk and buy shares, you can pay immediately via debit / credit card, PayPal or we’ll provide with details to make a bank transfer.
3. Come along tonight and grab a form, or download a form on the website and send us a cheque in the post.
Any share contribution will bring us that step closer to making The Bevendean Community Pub the envy of our neighbouring towns.
In order to make this event a huge success for all of us we need your help to tell everyone about it, if you have time;
1. Please let us know if you’re coming on our Facebook Event and share it with your friends.
2. Tweet your support with the hashtag #thebevy and mention us @thebevy
3. Come down and grab some flyers and pop them up in your local cafe, shops and your window to show your support.
Here’s to a successful day.
The Bevendean Community Pub
COUNTDOWN TO LAUNCH DAY
posted Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:40:19
What an enjoyable Saturday morning! Thank you to all the people that came along for their enthusiasm and willingness to get involved.
We now have a new treasurer and a group of people who will take care of our online presence. We have people working on our website to make sure it can deal with people buying shares online
Some street reps who will deliver leaflets and knock on doors.
Others who will stuff envelopes and help transform the outside space into an edible pub garden and people who will turn up for some Christmas carols outside the pub.
We will have beer mats ready soon as gift certificates for the person who would love to own their own pub!
And a brewery willing to make our own bespoke Bevendean ale.
Our prospectus is nearly ready to go to print - although we need more cash to make sure we can print enough and are still on the look out for businesses willing to advertise in it.
Garden work will also start this Monday turning those overgrown steep slopes into a food producing haven!
But all this activity doesn’t mean there isn’t a role for you.
We need as many people as possible to get involved in making our dreams happen.
Can you be a street rep? Stuff envelopes? Help us with question and answer surgeries we will holding in the lead up to Christmas. Fancy being membership secretary?
We need as many of you as possible to come along to the shares launch on December 1st from 6pm. There will be mulled wine and nibbles and hopefully the first showing of the film being made about us. We will talk about plans and you will be able to buy shares.
There will be a fundraising benefit gig afterwards in St.Andrews Hall from 7.30-10.30pm with Raw Deal and other bands and of course a Bevendean Pub bar.
So get in touch and offer to help – we are doing something unique that no one else in the country has done and it will be even better if you get involved.
Time to come together for action!
posted Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:12:43
It may feel like nothing’s been happening but the management group have been really busy behind the scenes working on our share prospectus, business plan, lease, licensing, costing up the rebuild, designing the garden, organizing events etc.
Now we are just about to launch the ten pound share issue and start raising money to make it happen. But we really need your help to make sure we raise as much money and get as many people involved as possible.
Can you come along to a meeting at St.Andrews Church Hall on Hillside this Saturday 10th November 10am-12 noon?
We will give you an update on what’s been happening, answer any questions and also have a whole list of jobs that need to be done.
These range from leafleting streets to stuffing envelopes. Encouraging people to buy shares – what about some for a Christmas present!? We need a membership secretary and a team that deals with issuing gift certificates. We need people to help process bountiful numbers of incoming cheques. Do you run a business or know someone that would advertise in our prospectus? Or sponsor us? Do you have the background to help us with legal issues or help with due diligence on our business plan? Do you know somewhere we can get cheap printing? Can you help monitor our facebook and twitter pages and keep them active and lively?
We will be issuing the shares on Saturday 1st December 6.30pm at St Andrews Church and hope as many of you can come along as possible. We are hoping the newspapers and TV will be there. There will also be a pub fundraising gig in St.Andrews Hall after the launch. Can you help with us organise the launch, help run the bar or do the door?
We really need you to help turn The Bevendean into something unique in the whole country. The first co-op pub (plus cafe!) on a housing estate in the UK offering not just a place for people to go, but somewhere we can all be proud of, while offering jobs and training opportunities for local people. This will only happen if as many of us as possible get involved.
We want queues for our shares to be longer than the bus queues at the Amex!
posted Fri, 02 Nov 2012 11:07:43
OUR GREATEST SUPPORTER? - THE TAXMAN!!!!
What are we doing filling valuable photo space with a letter from the taxman?
Yes, we could have put up a photo of a lovingly prepared full English breakfast, or a full pint of golden ale, but make no mistake this letter about the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (don’t you love the way it just rolls off the tongue?) is a damn site more exciting!
The taxman may taketh away, but he also giveth and what this letter means is in effect that for every pound it ultimately costs a taxpayer to support us we should get two pounds!
Translating that into bigger numbers, it should only cost our supporters £80,000 to give us £160,000!!!
Those familiar with such gifts from the taxman may generally associate them with larger investments of £500 or more, but no, we will be able to set our own lower limit for those who benefit and that limit will be small so that almost everyone who supports us who pays tax will effectively see their contribution matched by the taxman.
Find out more in our soon to be released prospectus!
posted Mon, 10 Sep 2012 10:48:45
Delivering the Bier (sp?)
The final micro-brewery to help us with a a free cask of ale was brewed right here in Brighton and delivered to our tent by the head brewer down at the Hand in Hand, Gary Sillence. The Kemptown Red was the strongest ale on offer - and in case you are confused by the first image, Brighton Bier is the new brand coming out of the Kemptown brewery making beers in styles more usually associated with Belgium or North America. So now you understand the spelling…
As you can see from the state of his shirt, Darren was not well versed in the art of setting up kegs to deliver ale by gravity so it was good that Gary was about to help us with the setting up. And he came back later to enjoy the event.
We did not contact him early enough to allow Gary time to brew us a barrel of the legendary ale that is to come, Bevendean Beast, but we are hoping that this will be happening in a real pub just a little way down the road…..
posted Sun, 09 Sep 2012 11:48:00
Bevfest blast off!
What a great day yesterday! Taking over £1400 behind the bar we have raised a significant sum that can help us print and distribute our future prospectus. But more than that, it got The Bevendean Co-operative Pub project into the minds of many new local people and gave a live demonstration of the fantastic atmosphere that we are looking to create.
More to follow in the next few days…..
posted Fri, 07 Sep 2012 16:08:00
Next stop Langhams!
Continuing their tour of Sussex, Darren and Scott’s next stop was the Langham Brewery, a true micro-brewery located on a farm near Petworth. There we were delighted to be shown the ropes by Saulo, a young brewer from Portugal (pause and think about that for a moment!) whose skills have seen Langham double in output over the last year.
Langham generously donated a firkin to match the one we bought. Try out Halfway to Heaven and Hip Hop at Bevfest tomorrow!
posted Fri, 07 Sep 2012 15:34:00
Collecting our Bevfest stash from WJ King!
This morning the Bevy’s own Darren Edwards and Scott Hortop (hiding behind the lens) took off on a grand tour of Sussex to pickup some of the ales that will be served up the Bevy Pub at Bevfest tomorrow (Saturday 8th Sept). First stop was the WJ King brewery in Horsham where the award winning master brewer Ian Burgess helped us soon realise that while real ale brewing might be an art there’s a lot of precision and science in the process!
We also met Nigel Lambe the chief executive who with Ian helped us load up the firkin of ale and bottles that they were so kindly donating to us. They have also donated a raffle prize of a minipin of ale and a brewery tour so you can try out this experience yourself!
The Bevy at BevFest - Music line up
posted Thu, 06 Sep 2012 11:04:47
We now have the full line up of the bands playing at BevFest on Saturday 8 September 2pm to 8pm….
2.00 Open mic session (with Lee Ainley Vocadamy All Stars & Pop Up Bevedean Choir!)
3.40 Johnny Wakelin (Rock ‘n Roll/reggae/R&B/pop)
4.15 Tripod Dave (Rock/pop covers)
5.15 Wookeez (Originals & rock/pop covers)
6.05 Jacquemo (Funk/Ska/pop)
7.00 The Fish Brothers (Music hall/ Punk crossover)
So join us at The Bevy Co-op Pub to sup some ales and take in the vibes - at Bevendean School grounds - get the 48 bus from town.
posted Wed, 29 Aug 2012 16:19:21
VISIT OUR ‘PUB’ AT BEVFEST!
At Bevendean school field, Brighton on 8 September 2-8pm.
We will have a fine selection of real ale on offer courtesy of local Sussex breweries WJ King, Langhams, The Kemptown Brewery and bottles of Dark Star. Add cider and wine and live music and good company and with the other attractions it’s going to be a great day.
The Big Alcohol Debate
posted Mon, 30 Jul 2012 18:07:45
A couple of us met with the people behind The Big Alcohol Debate today including Dr Tom Scanlon, Director of Public Health for Brighton and Hove!
We showed them round the pub and told them about our plans and guess what: the feedback they received from 1,300 residents chimes with what we are trying to do with The Bevy.
Some of the Big Alcohol Debate conclusions where that
* Residents are concerned over the negative impact of alcohol on the city, its residents and its image
* There are opportunities for business that provide alternatives such as late night cafes and entertainment not focused on alcohol
We discussed using our meeting room and our community kitchen for a number of health promotions.
What better place for men that are reluctant to go to the doctors than to be able to get a health MOT in the pub? Or link with Albion in the Community to do a healthy eating or adult and family weight management courses? Or use the Bevy as a meet up for exercise classes such as a weekly running and cycling clubs?
As we keep saying to anyone who will listen The Bevendean will be so much more than just a pub.
Open Day Success!
posted Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:06:00
You can’t help being a bit apprehensive. Months of working hard on business plans, legal issues and a million other jobs and it was time to fling open the doors of the pub to talk to people about our plans and see just how many were interested and want to get involved. We’ve had a right old mix of people coming to public meetings and have evolved into our current management committee but not everyone wants to come to meetings, will there be people out there who want to get to grips with the real thing?
In the end we need not have worried. We had a fantastic day with over 70 people coming along; a mix of old locals from the pigeon club to young families to members of Father John’s congregation down the road, all desperate for a community space and most handing over their details and telling us about the wide range of practical skills they have.
And that’s what we need. We know we need to raise a shed load of cash to make it happen and we are hatching our plans on this. But we also know we can save considerable costs by tapping into the wealth of skills and experiences around the estates. The posh word is social capital and that’s our unique selling point. We need people to help with everything from picking up a paint brush to a shovel (a few of enterprising people weeded round the whole pub while we chatted to everyone). People need to feel that it is their space that they’ve helped make happen. The first co-operative pub on a housing estate in the whole country.
A few are understandably apprehensive but hopefully as our strapline says it will be so much more than just a pub. As one couple from Hillside said “just where can you go to meet your neighbours round here?
posted Mon, 16 Jul 2012 14:51:27
Thanks to Rachel Hogbin for getting some photos from yesterday’s Open Day. Aside from the serious chatter going on inside, there’s a photo here to capture the exclusivity of the pub (yes, KIDS ARE WELCOME!) and it’s good to see at least one of the visitors getting involved with a bit of weeding!
Sunday 15th July is our open day
posted Fri, 13 Jul 2012 13:19:00
From 11am to 4pm on Sunday 15 July is your chance to see the interior of The Bevy, view the marked up bar and cafe areas, the meeting room and the community kitchen spaces. Come and ask the team involved in the project so far questions. We hope to inspire you to support us in whatever way you can and hopefully get involved in this groundbreaking project.
Here is Darren, just two hours ago, marking out the bar. The aim is to have you leaning on the bar at this spot drinking a pint of Bevendean Beast for Christmas…..
UK co-operative pubs already established
posted Sat, 07 Jul 2012 10:38:54
Here’s a list of the established co-op pubs in the UK which we are aware of:
One day we will be added to this list!
Prospectus
You can download our prospectus and other documents including our full business plan in our documents section.