The Upton White Horse, Norfolk Broads Pub



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Save The White Horse Plan - UPDATE 28/7/10 - THE PUB IS SAVED - Final up-date for the followers of this link :- After the last Community meeting on 15th June, the latest offer price was put to the Vendors & ten days later we were informed that the offer was rejected. This was because the White Horse Public House had earlier been removed from the open market. With a new Head Chef & Bar Management team put in place the pub will continue trading with the current owners in charge. We thank everyone who showed genuine interest in helping support the idea of community ownership but this was not to be. We wish to offer our best wishes to the White Horse and look forward to seeing many years of profitable business in the future. SAVE THE WHITE HORSE, UPTON CAMPAIGN UP-DATE : 15th JUNE 2010 We had our second public meeting at Upton Village Hall Tuesday 15th June where there were 60 to 70 people in attendance. The primary objective of the meeting was to up-date everyone as to where we were with pledges and outline the next stages in the process for us all to become shareholders in our village community pub. We had emphasised in the last meeting that in order to protect possible shareholders investments then we would seek an independent valuation. This was tasked to Keys of Aylsham where they were requested to provide us with a current market valuation of the freehold & business. This we had only received over the weekend prior to the meeting. We would then go on to put together a Working Party or Committee comprising like minded persons who we feel could bring their own particular skills to the table to progress our objective. Pledging Status Gordon (McFadyen) had been charged with accepting confidentially the pledge forms and he reported that just over 100 individuals had pledged to contribute just over £120,000 so far. This was great news as it should allow us to pay the initial “down payment” of £100k for control plus give us some over for refurbishment, fees & contingency. That’s assuming that the various grants we are confident of achieving bears fruition. A number of new sources have been highlighted to us so we are quietly confident that sufficient funding can be put in place in order to progress. Valuation Report Having only just seen this, this had the potential to put a spanner in the works! The current market valuation provided to us by Keys was considerably below the previously quoted asking price from the Vendors. It was possible to hear the collective intake of breathe from the Hall! Some of the points raised within the report were shared with those present. This included, consideration that the current rateable value was excessive, that significant expenditure would be needed for renovations including internal works to meet environmental health requirements. The cellar floor was noted here. A full building survey was recommended in order to highlight the extent of defect & necessary repairs. Large amounts of the business equipment was old and likely to be in need of renewal. Significant work would be required in order to convert the barn to any proposed ‘alternative use’. It was also highlighted that from the business point of view, that no accounts were forthcoming that detailed the state of the current business for the last two years. After various discussions from the floor, it was concluded that we were prepared to pay a premium for being able to own & keep the community hub of the village. It was also highlighted again that the sleeping partner has always been keen to keep a pub in the village and that his goodwill needs to be appreciated given his proposed timescale for our payment of the balance. Therefore it was decided that we should offer somewhat over this valuation figure. Working Party Formation On the assumption that we would be successful with the purchase then we need to get things moving for the requested early autumn completion. To achieve this would take a lot of work so we need help!! Most urgent would be to produce a sound business plan, determine the company structure, share issue etc so we can open a bank account and produce an Offer Document (Prospectus) for individuals to subscribe to. In our initial pledging documentation we had asked along with pledging money would individuals be prepared to physically help by standing on a Committee. We got a lot of volunteers so this was whittled down on the night with six persons needed to join the three of us who had started this ball rolling! Those standing were given a few moments to address the hall to explain what they could contribute. The ballot papers were duly filled in and those successful have all been notified and accepted the post. These are: John Brewer, Martin Catchpole, Mark Hand, Peter Murch, Pat Murch & Tim Parsons. Next Steps At the time of writing, negotiations with the vendors is still on-going. Once we get (positive) news on that, this will determine when we can call our first Committee Meeting. We thank everyone who attended again, especially all those who put their names forward for Committee election. It was a very positive meeting with lots of helpful input from a great many enthusiastic dedicated people who are keen to see the White Horse stay open & in that bring more services to the community. Past Update : Great News: On behalf of all those keen to keep The White Horse open we must offer a massive "Thank You" to everyone with a similar objective especially those who have also been able to promise financial support to the plan to turn it into a community owned & run establishment. At the time of writing, our total pledges have exceeded £100,000 and we feel there is more to come, both from the general public and corporate support in the way of grants, subsidies & loans. As a result, and with the full backing of the current owners, we plan to take one more step in the project. To that end, we have arranged for another public meeting at Upton Village Hall on Tuesday 15th June (7:30 p.m.) where we will outline the next stages, including the selection of a working party needed to carry the plan forward. Please come along to hear how we can all help to save the White Horse. Don't forget to check to web-site for further up-date as they happen.
SUMMARY OF THE PUBLIC MEETING HELD, UPTON VILLAGE HALL – 9 TH April 2010 THE WHITE HORSE PUBLIC HOUSE, UPTON A meeting was arranged to inform all of the opportunity that exists to purchase our village pub and to try to judge the level of interest in the venture. As it happened, we had an excellent turn out on Friday evening, it was standing room only!! We would estimate something like 130-140 persons there. We would also like to thank every single person who was there, it was heartening to see there was so much interest in our community. On the top table was Richard Thornhill, Kevin Cotton and Gordon McFadyen. Gordon was our spokesperson for the evening & was very professional & an excellent speaker. He introduced us as simply three villagers who were aware of the problems of The White Horse and who are keen for it to remain in existence. We're hopefully the catalysts to bring likeminded people together to see if there is both a will and a way to keep a pub in the village. He went on to outlined the background for calling the meeting, what we as a community would have to come up with financially if we were to save the pub and possible ways the pub could be run. This included some of the ideas of how to expand the use of the premises from being merely a pub. Finally, what happens next. BACKGROUND The pub is currently owned by Ray Norman (Approx one third) & a sleeping partner, (approx two thirds), ST, a solicitor from Essex. The pub was put on the market over a year ago @£400k but there was no interest, this was then reduced by £50k which generated a little interest but no satisfactory offers were received. Ray Norman is almost 67, not in good health & wants to retire. The pubs trade & profitability is sliding. The ‘sleeper’ is desperate to retain the pub as a pub, but as major shareholder, he realises that the best way he can liquidate his investment is to sell the pub. Having insufficient interest elsewhere he would be keen to sell it to the villagers at a further reduced price, rather than knocking it down for possible re-development. A while ago, the three of us had a meeting with ST to establish the grounds under which he would be prepared to sell & to try to understand his expectations on the value of the business. He is looking for £300k, but would accept £100k now with the remainder paid over the next 5-8 years. So this initial payment would secure ownership immediately. We would obviously have to recognise ST’s goodwill in leaving his money “in the business” for the time it takes to pay it off. HOW DO WE RAISE THE MONEY? Based on our limited research so far by studying other similar projects throughout the country where villagers have taken ownership of their pubs & village shops then we can use these as a template. Thepubisthehub.org.uk website is very informative as is the Plunkett Foundation both set up with these projects in mind. Regional Enterprise Boards could assist if we went down the shop/café/ PO route. There must be others out there that we don’t even know of at present. There would also appear to be a considerable number of sources for grant aid, subsidies, loans etc which would also have to be followed up. In fact the Pubs Minister (didn’t know one existed!) has recently announced a £3.3M fund to help communities buy & run their pubs. We are on the list of interested parties to be informed when this scheme goes “live”. Our initial starting point to see if we can get anywhere near to our first target is to ask for pledges in return for a shareholding in the enterprise. We estimate on top of the purchase price we would need a further approx £50k for professional fees, insurances, initial refurb costs & a contingency fund. Shares would be available to buy at £500 each. Each shareholder would be entitled to an equal say in the running the business no matter how many shares are held. It is only if dividends were to be paid out or the pub was to be sold on, only then would the number of shares held make a difference. Then dividends would be paid pro-rata for the number of shares held. HOW WOULD WE RUN THE PUB? Several business models exist, all of which would require being run through an elected committee/council/directors. We could: Employ a Manager and a separate Chef to run the kitchen Employ a Manager and franchaise the kitchen to generate rental income Employ a husband & wife sort of team to run both, on a profit share basis Lease the business to a tenant (selected by us) at an annual rental. This would have the considerable benefit to us in that they would have the business risk whilst we would be responsible for the upkeep & renovations to the site. There would also be the opportunities to expand the use of the premises from being merely a pub. A community shop, selling basic foodstuffs, even a Post Office back in the village A Café, internet access Adult learning activities, arts & crafts, IT etc Others not even considered yet! SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? The meeting was arranged to tell everyone of the opportunity that exists to purchase and own our village pub and to try to judge the level of interest in the venture. We do need pledges (not legally binding) to be returned by the end of April. These will be treated in strictest confidence. Please sent them to: Mr. Gordon McFadyen, 32 Marsh Rd, Upton, Norwich, NR13 6BS If there is sufficient interest & we get close to our initial pledge target (£130k - £150k), then we would call another meeting so that we can form a committee to bring expertise to the table in order to progress the project. We would need to form a Company, Co-operative or other such legal entity, get the pub valued & a sale price agreed and then select a manager/staff or tenant for whatever operating direction was decided. Lots of work, the fun would only just be starting! From the floor, we had a lot of positive interest, feedback and further ideas for directions to follow up on if we were to progress. For example: An important point was made based on one question we had and is that we would NOT be buying any debts that are currently associated with the business. With this initial purchase, Ray Norman would have no involvement with pub & it’s business. Breweries give favourable discounts to Freehouses based on their turnover. There is an ‘un-yet to be tapped’ sources of third party funding out there. For example, we’re probably too late now to enter the NCC Pride in Norfolk Awards that’s offering a £50k prize for local community initiatives, but there will be others. We have a number of ‘professionals’ in the audience who we hope could become the embryonic committee members! Some good questions regards share ownership (age, transfer, bequeathing & confidentiality to name a few) which would obviously need follow-up regarding the legal structure we choose to follow. Insurances for ‘unseen’ problems that may arise prior to & during refurbishment & ownership. How would the initial committee be formed & how would decisions be made when there could be so many different opinions held? Tenanting/landlording & it would appear that there is no legal requirement for the licencee to live on the premises. This was with respect to the considerable refurbishment that would be required upstairs (eg kitchen installation). What sort of running costs & working capital would be needed initially & have we budgeted sufficient? The benefits of having other facilities in addition to a pub were re-emphasised for both locals & tourists alike. Speak with other similar venture to seek their guidance & learn from them their recommendations. We will have to research into what we can offer as ‘special’ in order to survive once open to keep business given so many pubs are closing. To summarise, a very good meeting with constructive ideas. It’s good to see so many people with what appears a common desire to keep the White Horse open and it demonstrates that the “pub is really the hub” of a village community.