community hub business plan

Setting up a community hub from scratch

Over the years I have set up and made sustainable a number of community hubs in a variety of conexts.

This blog post is for anyone who is interested in starting, developing or supporting a community hub.

Introduction:

Below is quite a lenththy introduction which explains what a community hub is. Following the introduction is my ten steps to setting up your community hub.

So you may be a local resident, a member of a community group or a charity, this bloog post provides you with the insights that will ensure your community hub will support and help your local community to thrive.

A well planned community hub provides a opportunity for alternative approaches to service delivery underpinned by the principles of community involvement and partnership

Community hubs facilitate community cohesion by providing a place where different local partners and groups can come together to address local issues and support local people. A good community hub therefore supports a community-focused approach.

A good community hub delivers a range of services that are evidenced and provide endless oppertunities for volunteering.

A hub can deliver services focused on a specific theme for example; a family focused hub, a elderly focused hub, a intergenerational focused hub, a military focused hub or a hub focused on alleviating loneliness and mental health issues.

Listening to the local community is very important to starting the process. Therefore a community survey to understand the needs of the local community is the first piece of work to deliver. A good community survey will also provide evidenece for funders to support your project.

See my blog post about carrying out a community survey https://imagineprojects.co.uk/community-survey-3/

A good community survey also highlights that you have consulted as widely as possible with local people.

Community hubs usually operate out of buildings, from which multi-purpose, community-led services are delivered. With partners providing access to public services. These co-location approaches are an efficient and effective use of resources and local assets.

Community hubs should always provide services ‘for the community by the community’. Local people are involved both in making decisions about how services are run, how buildings are managed, and also supporting delivery through volunteering this model will underpin an enterprising and resilient community organisation.

Typically, community hubs are run and managed by a dedicated community organisation, but in other instances they may be owned or managed by a public agency such as a housing association, or local authority but with substantial input and influence from the community.

Ideally community hubs are multi purpose, providing or hosting a range of activities and services used by lots of different people.

Examples include

• Parent and toddler groups
• Health and wellbeing activities
• Employment support
• Library services

A good community hub will utalise local buildings and land to provide a base for activites and services. These can be assets acquied through a community asset transfer. Utalising an old school, town hall or sports ground.

Other hubs are created as the result of new development and the utalisation of a 106 agreement.

Community hubs need an income to be sustainable, and ensure they will be there in years to come.  A  range of income sources is usually required to cover all of the costs for looking after the building, running activities and paying staff. Funding streams can include, grants, donations, hiring out space, delivering contracts, a community cafe or some form of business with a social pupose.

Effective community hubs make use of good ideas and resources within the community and are able to adapt to changing circumstances.

Hubs can bring people together and help them form new relationships and support networks.

They often provide early intervention services, helping people to solve problems before they escalate into bigger problems

They can offer a safe place where people can come in for a coffee or a training course, and access additional services needed such as debt advice, mental health services or counselling without any stigma. In short hubs should be safe places for people of all ages.

Community hubs can provide a more holistic approach to helping people with their problems. They often have an ‘open door’ policy and are able to help people access a range of services under one roof.

Some of my community hubs have transformed under used buildings – mainly churches into thriving hubs of activity, making neighbourhoods more resilient

Community hubs provide a focus for community  led  regeneration

Community hubs often act as a catalyst to develop local projects, activities and businesses. They can also  provide a base for local jobs and services, helping to keep economic activity local.  Some hubs act as a location for local economic development.

I’m aware of hubs that have helped establish neighbourhood plans, others have been developed as a result of them

Some community hubs start life as a publicly owned building that are eventually  transferred into community ownership when no longer required by the local authority. Old Schools, Town Halls, Libraries, Leisure Centres and Office buildings have all been re-purposed as community hubs.

The diversification of services

Some hubs begin life as a specialist building delivering a service, and diversify the range of activity they provide to become a community hub.

Here are my ‘Ten Steps to Delivering a Sutainable Community Hub

1: Understand local needs and demand

Every community hub is different, influenced by its founding members and the environment it exists within. Before a detailed plan for your hub can be established you need to identify and understand the issues which matter most to local people in your community.

Also consider these options.

A community hub must be grounded in a real understanding of local needs.

Have a look at statistics about your area to understand what  the priorities and trends are locally.

Mapping existing community assests, their functions and characteristics in order to understand the local provision.

Developing a community engagement plan setting out how you will continue to involve others as your vision moves forward. A community engagement plan is an ongoing requirement for an effective community hub. The plan could include, knocking on doors, sending out informed surveys, use of social media and public meetings.

2: As part of your planning establish a clear vision and mission with your community

A clear vision and mission helps to provide a clear purpose to your hub, helping to articulate and communicate what you are seeking to achieve. This will help you to remain focussed, and engage with people more effectively.

Once a vision and mission have been shaped by them, a useful next step is to gather and consider ideas for activities and projects that will help you to achieve them.

3: Develop partnerships, and build relationships

The most effective hubs develop strong networks within their communities, and beyond, underpinned by shared values and buy-in to the vision. Useful activities to undertake include, stakeholder mapping, local community leaders, councillors, officers and public agencies about what you want to do

Where possible identify where you have common causes. Think ‘what are their priorities, what can we offer them, how does this help them with what they are trying to do?’

4: Develop your strategic objectives

Develop a set of clear objectives that set out what you will actually do in order to achieve your mission. Your objectives should reflect community needs, as well as local context, focussing on the areas that will make the most difference

The aim is to not develop a huge list of everything that you will do, but develop agreement of the key strategic priorities for the time being. Your specific objectives may be reviewed in time.

5: Develop a business model for your hub

Community Hubs can only be effective if they are sustainable and resilient. Whilst grant funding may be hugely important in helping hubs get going, over- reliance on grants will make your community hub vulnerable

Community hubs often have quite complex business models, relying on a range of income sources to cover their costs and make a profit

6: Secure support and resources to make it happen

Successful hubs need to secure support from a wide range of people and organisations to be successful. This may include, support from local authority officers and councillors, making informed effective proposals to funders

Securing support from the local community to volunteer.

7: Acquire any assets required

Community hubs may be acquired through asset transfer, purchased directly, or built from scratch. Sometimes a trial period provides an opportunity for community groups to test things out before taking on the full responsibility of owning or managing a building or piece of land.

8: Establish an appropriate governance structure

Before formally taking over the management of a building, employing any staff,  or securing funding, an organisation will need to be formally set up

Community hubs should regularly undertake governance reviews to make sure that they are working effectively. Useful exercises to keep in good shape include, a review of your strategic plan and business plan at regular intervals.

Capture information and monitor the impact that your hub is making on people and your community.

Review your community engagement methods to keep them fresh and fit for purpose as local needs might change over time.

A very important aspect to consider is how your hub will manage the quality of its services

PQASSO is a  example of a quality standard tailored to third sector organisations

Some hubs may be more suited to industry specific quality standards, depending on the focus of work such as the care Quality Commission standards, OFSTED or Matrix Standard

Understanding, and being able to prove the difference your hub makes to individuals, the wider community and other stakeholders will help you to maintain support, and secure funding and resources

9: Diversify your income to develop resilience

Over-reliance on one or two sources of income is a common cause of organisational failure. Seek to establish a range of income sources so that you are less vulnerable or dependent.

• Contracts and service delivery
• Trading income
• Asset based income.
• Don’t be ashamed of making money.

Whilst grants are not a sustainable source of ongoing income, they can be very helpful for start up projects, or piloting projects.

Talk to local agencies about opportunities to deliver services that are in line with your objectives as an organisation.

The bar is generally set higher for organisations wishing to secure and deliver public service contracts compared with grants, so it helps to invest some time in becoming contract ready if you are seeking to establish this as an income stream.

As community hubs often operate at a local level, they sometimes need to collaborate with others in order to compete to deliver service contracts .

Community hubs can often develop locally rooted social enterprises that support their aims, and help cover costs.

Trading income may come from selling services such as childcare, or gym membership, or, through the sale of products whether it is arts and crafts, locally made produce or a pint of ale!

In addition community run shops, pubs, markets, cafes and bakeries  are all potential avenues to explore to generate income and provide vital services.

Asset based income

Community hubs often generate income from rent, room hire and license agreements.

This can work particularly well where the tenants complement the social objectives of the organisation.

For example, public agencies sometimes rent space in hubs so that they can provide services at a neighbourhood level such as housing advice surgeries, or health screening services.

10: Adapt to changing needs and environment

Sustainable community hubs remain alive to and responsive to the changing needs and demands within the community. It is good practice for all community organisations to undertake a regular review. This may involve looking at customer feedback, statistics and impacts to date.

It is also helpful to be keyed into local networks, e.g. Resident’s Associations or the local Council for Voluntary Services, in order to be up to date regarding new funding or learning opportunities locally.

Imagine Projects will carry out an imaginative project, at an affordable cost so you can spend your time growing your business.

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• Sample Business Plans
• Nonprofit & Community

Community Center Business Plan

If you are planning to start a new community center, the first thing you will need is a business plan. Use our Northern Park – Community center business plan example created using Upmetrics business plan software to start writing your business plan in no time.

Before you start writing a business plan for your new community center, spend as much time as you can reading through some samples of the community center or nonprofit business plans.

Reading some sample business plans will give you a good idea of what you’re aiming for, and also it will show you the different sections that different entrepreneurs include and the language they use to write about themselves and their business plans.

We have created this sample community center business plan for you to get a good idea about how perfect a community center business plan should look and what details you will need to include in your stunning business plan.

Community Center Business Plan Outline

This is the standard community center business plan outline which will cover all important sections that you should include in your business plan.

• Mission Statement
• NPCC Theory & Overview
• History of NPCC
• Moving forward: The Future of NPCC
• Accomplishments
• Etienne Wenger-Trayner
• Proposed Location & Service Area
• Hours of Operation & Staffing
• Key Strategies
• Research & Development
• Asset Development
• Why now and why NPCC?
• Why we need a youth & Community center
• How local youth & the Community will Benefit from the Center
• Youth Target Market
• Target population
• Advertising & Promotions
• Weekend Events
• Outdoor & Recreation Space
• Creative & Expressive Arts
• Experiential Learning Opportunities
• A Hub for Services
• Check-in Policy
• Youth Center Rules & Agreements
• Social & Environmental Responsibility
• Lynn Skrukrud
• Halli Ellis
• Staffing Matrix
• Assumptions & Projections
• Sustainability
• Projected Profit and Loss
• Projected Cash Flow
• Projected Balance Sheet

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After  getting started with upmetrics , you can copy this community center business plan example into your business plan and modify the required information and download your community center business plan pdf and doc file . It’s the fastest and easiest way to start writing your business plan.

Download a sample community center business plan

Need help writing your business plan from scratch? Here you go;  download our free community center business plan pdf  to start.

It’s a modern business plan template specifically designed for your community center business. Use the example business plan as a guide for writing your own.

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Community hubs – the importance of developing a sustainable business model

A blog by Niamh Goggin, Director of Small Change and member of Local Trust’s community hubs advisory panel

Local Trust and Power to Change have commissioned research on community hubs , to help groups starting, developing and managing them. We hope that, by sharing learning, more hubs will survive and thrive and continue supporting their local communities.

What is a community hub?

A community hub is a building or space that is;

• open and accessible to the local community;
• providing services that the local community wants and needs;
• where formal decisions about running and managing the hub are taken by people who come mainly from within the local community.

There is no “one-size-fits-all” community hub. Some are traditional community centres; others range from an allotment shed, to a local shop, a bus or a house. Some are run and staffed by volunteers while other well-established hubs employ professional management and well-qualified staff.

Scotlands and Bushbury Hill Big Local opened the Big Venture Centre, in 2017. Wolverhampton Council announced the closure of the Scotland’s Adventure Playground, which had been a community hub for many years. The Partnership set up a Community Interest Company (CIC) and successfully achieved a Community Asset Transfer of the playground to the Big Venture Ltd CIC. They spent £180,000 improving the centre’s facilities, bringing new services into the area and creating a thriving and sustainable social enterprise.

The Big Venture Centre runs a community cafe; The Shop in the Shed (clothes recycling), dance, fitness and personal training sessions; Rock School; bootcamps and a summer beach area with play sand and a paddling pool.

What have we learned so far from our research?

Community hubs range in scale from micro (turnover < £100k); small (£100k – £250k); medium (£250k – £750k) to large (more than £750k). Micro-hubs mainly rely on grants and donations, followed by building (rental) income. Small hubs are also reliant on grants and donations, followed by building income, but with social enterprise income becoming important. Medium hubs also rely on grants and donations, followed by building income, but social enterprise, fees and retail sales and service contract incomes are becoming significant. There is a step-change in income sources for large hubs, who receive over 40% of their income from service contracts, following by fees and retail sales; and social enterprise income.

The most common main activities are;

• Community hall or meeting space;
• Health or well-being activities;
• Educational activities;
• Skills and employment training;
• Community cafe.

Activities delivered by others, using the community hub space include;

• Sports or fitness activities;
• Other arts or cultural activities;
• Skills and employment training.

Balancing needs

Thinking about your business model can help your community hub to become sustainable. When starting a hub, many groups have a long list of services that their community wants and needs. Some of these activities activities can generate income to cover their costs in full. Some will cost money and generate no income. Many will fall somewhere in between, generating some income but not covering costs in full.

What we call the “value proposition” is what the hub provides that benefits the local community. The “revenue model” is what the hub provides that people or organisations are willing to pay for. This might be income from renting space or providing services, but also includes grants and donations. The trick is to balance between delivering what the community wants and bringing in enough income to sustain the hub over the long term.

Community hubs have an important role to play in supporting local communities. Developing a sustainable business model means that they are more likely to survive and thrive for generations of local people.

The research report for Local Trust and Power to Change, Community Hubs: Understanding Survival and Success , by Neal Trup, David Carrington, and Steve Wyler, is available  here . 

As a response to this research, we commissioned The Community Hub Handbook which is a practical, go-to guide for anyone running their own local community hub. 

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Business Plan

Below is the final version of the business plan. the best way to view this document is to download a copy here . the document will download in pdf format, if you don’t already have adobe reader you can download it from the link in the header..

The Golden Lion Pub is intended to be purchased by the Ashton Hayes Community Hub Ltd. (AHCHL) a Community Benefit Society registered with the Financial Conduct Authority under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, registration number (7662)

Executive Summary

The Golden Lion, Ashton Hayes has been a long standing and well used village asset, the pub has an outstanding track record as a public house and restaurant having formerly won many national awards including Greenhalls National Pub of The Year a number of years running during the 1990’s.

The pub closed its doors at New Year 2013 after having been bought and run as a pub for a short period. The Golden Lion was listed by the Parish Council as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) on 26/03/13.

A small group of villagers got together in the summer of 2016 and approached the Parish Council for support for acquiring the Golden Lion. This resulted in the establishment of the Golden Lion working group (GLWG) which was a sub group of the Parish Council. The membership is made up by the original group of residents and 4 parish councillors. The GLWG sought and received support and advice from The Plunkett Foundation who are an organisation that helps communities in rural areas, to set up and run life-changing community co- operatives; enterprises that are owned and run democratically by large numbers of people in their community.

Ashton Hayes has an excellent history and experience of running successful enterprises such as a Community Shop which has been running for 7 years and continues to expand as a business, a village Energy Company and a very well run and organised asset in the Recreation Field and Pavilion.

The vision is to restore the Golden Lion pub as a thriving community owned enterprise serving the community both as a pub and a broader community hub.

Legal Structure

A Community Benefit Society has been created, a CBS exists in order to carry on a defined business for the benefit of a community. Ashton Hayes Community Hub Ltd is the registered name of the new CBS and we have also been registered under the same name with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

• Market Research

Market research has been undertaken into the Pub as a potential community businesses. Advice has been sought from similar community pubs, previous landlords and from supporting bodies such as the Plunkett Foundation, who are a well recognised and a supportive organisation that assist communities to set up and run co-operatives.

• Community Engagement

The Golden Lion is situated on a prime site in the heart of the village’s centrally placed conservation area, as such it will have an impact on many residents for a wide variety of reasons. We understand that good quality data from broad section of  interested residents is critical to the success of any community project. A number of detailed community consultations have taken place over the last few years, many of which provide valuable and specific data in relation to the Golden Lion. In 2009 and in 2012 consultations were completed as part of the Neighbourhood Planning process. Both these well supported consultation programs demonstrated substantial support for maintaining a village pub. A more detailed consultation was conducted in October 2017 followed up by a detailed questionnaire to all residents. This was designed to seek our resident’s views on how the pub should be managed, their levels of expected usage and on any additional services or uses the pub and hub may offer in the future. See Appendix 7.

Monetary and Social Returns

The motives for running the Golden Lion as a community owned pub are to improve social cohesion and community development. Ashton Hayes has a population of just under 1000 and sits within the Gowy ward of Cheshire West and Chester Borough. Under the “Mosiac” ward profiles for Gowy indicated that there are 4 times as many residents living in what is defined as an “isolated Rural Community” across the ward. Profits generated will be re-invested into the business and/or used for community benefit or, within capped limits, be returned to shareholders in the form of interest on shares. The anticipated returns will be more than financial; the principal benefits will be the positive social effects on the community. If the business fails, the net assets e.g. the proceeds of the sale of the premises, after debts and shareholders have been repaid, must be retained for the benefit of the community or transferred to another Asset-Locked body for the long term benefit of the community.

• The Pub and Hub Project

The intent is to engage a tenant to run the Pub as a viable sustainable business and manage the Hub, serving a full range of beers, wines and spirits and restaurant and bar food. The pub will become a social centre for the village providing a meeting place for all.

Main Report

Ashton Hayes Neighbourhood Plan Survey

The vision is to restore the Golden Lion pub as a thriving community owned enterprise serving the community both as a pub and a broader community hub. Through putting The Golden Lion Pub and Hub at the heart of our community we want to ensure the long- term survival of The Golden Lion by making it the focal point for the village and creating a facility where the whole community can come together. A place to meet both informally and formally, a place to drink, eat, play or simply come for a chat, where everyone of any age is welcome and feels part of what is going on.

What is a Community Pub?

A co-operative pub is just that – it’s a business owned and controlled by a large number of people from within the community with the primary purpose of stimulating community cohesion. Communities have been running drinking establishments for decades with many working men’s clubs, sports and social clubs all having existed as member owned entities. However co-operative pubs are different. They are owned by members (also known as shareholders), where membership is both voluntary and open to all. Co-operative pubs are governed democratically on the basis each member gets one vote, regardless of how much money they invested. This is important in Plunkett’s view, as it ensures that everybody has the opportunity to have a say about what’s important to them regardless of their ability or wish to invest. Once in Community control they tend to be run by full-time managers or tenants with the support of members of the community who volunteer. The Hub element is best described as a facility aimed at providing a focal point, along with facilities, to foster greater local community activity and bring the residents, the local business community, and smaller organisations together to improve the overall quality of life in the area.

Co-operative pubs trade, employ staff, manage volunteers, and enter into contracts and financial agreements. They therefore require a legal entity to protect the individuals running the business by giving them ‘limited liability’, and to ensure they are compliant with legal necessities such as tax, insurance, trading standards and employment law. The legal structure proposed is a Community Benefit Society or CBS. The Ashton Hayes Community Hub Ltd. (AHCHL) has been registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The Society exists in order to carry on business for the benefit of the community. Assets owned by the Society are locked into the CBS, and will be used solely for the community. This type of legal entity allows and actively encourages greater participation levels. We will encourage Members participation and input through regular meetings, online and website participation in decision making and planning for the society.

The benefits of having a larger and more engaged membership base include:

1: Having a larger number of people who’ve a financial interest in the pub and who are therefore more likely to use it regularly.

2: A greater number of people who are likely get involved with the management committee and meetings and who positively contribute to the overall direction of the business.

3: A more accessible pool of people to draw on when committee numbers are falling, or when more volunteers are needed to assist in or with the business.

Financial Background and Proposals

The Golden Lion site was sold on the open market for c£265,000 in 2012 (TBC) as a going concern. The pub closed within a few months and the owner ultimately decided to develop the site for residential use as opposed to being a pub management company as was first thought. The building had a resident for some of this period but has now been empty for approaching 3 years and the condition and potentially the value of the buildings will have deteriorated accordingly. A number of planning applications have been submitted applying to convert the site to residential housing, all of which have either been refused or withdrawn. It is understood that the current owner has split the title deed between the buildings and land in to two separate titles. Through this project we want to ensure the Golden Lion remains at the heart of our village and community. We envisage the bulk of the purchase and refurbishment monies will be raised from grants, asset sales and a share issue.

The share prospectus, along with all other relevant information is available on our website at https://goldenlionashtonhayes.co.uk/ via our email address [email protected] and our twitter account @GoldLionAshton.

Modelling of the financial aspects predicts that the business will generate a modest profit from the second year, increasing thereafter as the level of activity increases.

Source of Finance

The immediate objective is to buy the Pub, at an agreed purchase price from the current owner, or via a compulsory purchase order if he is unwilling to sell at a reasonable market valuation. The building needs considerable repair work and in total, we need a minimum of £520,000 in order to purchase, refurbish and to reopen the Pub, and to enable us to hold a small contingency fund. We will raise the capital initially through a share issue. We are also exploring grant options, asset sales and loans to support the share issue

Community Shares

An extremely effective way of raising finance is through selling shares to members via a community share issue. As well as raising money to help with startup costs, in Plunkett’s view individuals who hold shares within a business also gain a sense of ownership and involvement in decision-making within the business. This is the key element contributing to the success and resilience of all forms of community co-operatives.

The price of a single share has been decided by the management committee to be £200. A maximum of £25,000 has been set for any one individual and £100,000 for an investing organisation. The critical point is that this balances the need to raise a sufficient level of capital and gain maximum involvement from the local community.

It should be noted that for other community pubs, the most common community share account purchased by individual shareholders was £500, and the average amount was £917. The average value of share capital raised by other such community pubs pub was £172,922. Source; Co ‑ operative Pubs A better form of business 2017.

The share offer will be launched once any formal offer has been made to purchase the pub at an acceptable price. The share offer will run from 26th February 2018 to 28th March 2018 and is designed to give investors the opportunity to contribute financially, on a long term basis, to the business of AHCPL. We expect most shareholders to come from the local community but welcome contributors from further afield (see Share Offer below and separate Share Offer document). Applications are to be submitted by individuals (no joint applications) and applicants should be 18 years old or older.

We will hold a Share Offer launch meeting and invite all villagers to attend. Many people have already indicated that they would be willing to make significant investments. We will also hand deliver the Share Offer document to every household in Ashton Hayes and some households in surrounding parishes (which is within the pub catchment area). Information will be made available at other events that we will be running in the next few months. Based on our earlier commercial valuation, the minimum amount we wish to raise from this share offer is £250,000. This is the total amount required to bid for the site and reopen the Pub. Our maximum target of £420,000 (based on current valuations and refurbishment costs) would allow us to additionally partly refurbish, and to have a small contingency fund.

Below the minimum amount, we would not proceed with our offer for the Pub. At this point all subscriptions and any loans would be returned, albeit with a small loss to cover administrative costs.

Should we raise between more than the minimum sum we should be able to make significant improvements to the premises. In the event of share subscriptions exceeding the maximum, shares would be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

Organisation Investment

We are currently being considered for support from the Community Shares  Booster  Programme, which is funded by Power to Change and run by the Community Shares Unit.  If we are successful, it would mean that for every pound invested by individuals up to £100,000, another pound will be invested in matched shares. The matched shares will be held by Co-operatives UK, a partner of the Community Shares Unit  and will be subject to the same terms and conditions as other members, except for its right to withdraw share capital which will be restricted to a pro-rata amount.

Of up to £100,000 from the More Than A Pub (MTAP) funding of the Community Pub Business Support Programme. This has been applied for via the Plunkett Foundation, as a combined grant and loan, subject to conditions.

Mortgage /Loans

These are being investigated as a funding source to cover any shortfall in funding and to provide working capital. These would be secured on the property. Agreement in principle has will be established before any agreed sale.

Additional Grants

Several other specific relatively small grants will also be sought for items such as kitchen equipment.

Our Objectives

We want to ensure the long-term survival of The Golden Lion Pub by making it the focal point for the village and its community through creating a facility where the whole community can come together. A place to meet, drink, eat, play or simply come for a chat, where everyone of any age is welcome and feels part of our community. It will be so much more than a pub, offering various services and facilities to our local population.

Once we own the Pub, subsequent objectives are:

• To refurbish the property back up to a standard that will support a successful village pub and hub.
• Further development would subsequently take place in order to create and run a thriving community hub with a friendly, welcoming, community focus, encouraging wide community involvement and ownership.
• The business will need to be profitable enough to service its costs and debts, and also, in due course, provide interest payments to investors.

We intend to reopen the Pub as soon as possible; at present we are considering a phased refurbishment and subsequent opening schedule e.g. possibly with drinks and food only but with restricted opening hours. This phasing will be determined by finance availability. Once financial stability is secure we plan to re-invest the profits into developing other community-based facilities within the premises as identified from the consultation process.

Our Operating Model

The plan is to buy the freehold of the Golden Lion Public House as a whole and run it as a traditional, tenanted village pub, selling local ales from local brewers, as well as some national brands, together with good quality food (also using local suppliers where possible) and providing a venue for traditional pub sports and pastimes, local events, meetings and celebrations. The Society will own the land and buildings and we will agree a lease with a tenant to run the licensed business. We will set terms for the tenant that make it an attractive proposition, but which will also ensure that the Society receives a benefit through increased rent over time, as the business becomes more profitable.

On taking over the property we expect to undertake essential refurbishment of the property immediately, to make the necessary repairs to the roof, replace windows, and doors, to improve the toilets and kitchen facilities and we also need to make the upstairs accommodation attractive to any new tenant. We are also anticipating having to refurbish some equipment in the bar and cellar area as well as obtain some furniture for the bar and restaurant areas and we have budgeted accordingly.

For the day-to-day operation of the pub two options were considered;

Tenancy – sub-let to a professional operator

After acquiring the premises the site would initially be developed to a standard that would allow the operation of a public house. This would include developing the kitchen area, bar and a providing a separate meeting room that could be used out of pub operational hours. Once developed a tenancy could be offered, with key priorities defined for the incoming tenant. Prospective tenants will be invited to submit their own business plan for the pub, outlining how they intend to deliver the key priorities for the village.

• Brings in essential experience and know how
• Initial funds required are limited to the business acquisition and developments costs
• Volunteer workforce may keep these costs to a minimum

Disadvantages

• Maintaining meaningful control
• Considerable dependency on the ability and nature of the tenant

Management – employees/volunteers

All practical and legal issues in running a pub business would be the responsibility of the society. A manager would be appointed to deliver the day to day operation of the business. To keep running costs to a minimum the business may be supported by volunteers.

• Potential profits are retained within the society for the benefit of the community
• The financial and operational risks of running the business are with the society
• There are several other community enterprises within the Village and a further demand for volunteer workforce may be above supply limits

Following an assessment of both models we have decided to let the pub to tenants rather than appoint a manager. The appointment of a tenant to run the business is a crucial step. The advantage of this arrangement for the Society is that the tenant will own the business element entirely; the attraction for the tenant is that we will support them by initially keeping the lease payments as low as possible and they will benefit directly the more profitable the business is. Therefore they will have every incentive to ensure that the business thrives and grows. We will be inviting tenants who wish to lease the premises from us to submit their business proposals to us and we will select the tenant who best meets the following criteria:

• They must demonstrate that they will provide a venue for village events and support local cultural and sporting activities
• They must demonstrate that they intend to build up a profitable business and in particular how they will provide good quality, competitively priced food that will eventually provide at least 50% of the pub sales income
• They will need to embrace the fact that the Golden Lion will be a Freehouse and provide good quality, local beers
• They will need to convince us that they that they will provide a warm, welcoming and friendly atmosphere in the pub
• They will need to provide evidence of their marketing plan
• They should preferably have at least five years experience in the licensed trade, and in particular in a village/rural setting
• They will need to convince us that they will work harmoniously with the Committee and listen to our advice and suggestions

We will agree a three-year rolling lease with our tenant, based on rental levels outlined later in this document. The Society will monitor the tenant’s financial performance. We will ensure that there is an “open book” policy in place, run through an accountant that we mutually appoint. This will enable us to have full confidence in the financial reports with which we are provided and the lease agreement will also allow for the level of rent to be increased if the business is more profitable than expected, or reduced if it is less so. The details of this are outlined later in this document. The tenant will be running their own business within our premises and, as such, will carry all the risk of operational business failure and associated debt. The tenancy agreement will have break points built in to offer further controls should they be required. If their business were to fail there would be no legal access to the Society’s assets.

Long Term Management of the Project

Society Summary

AHCHL is registered as a Community Benefit Society with the Financial Conduct Authority (Registration Nº7662), it is important to note that this completely removes the running, management, risk and resource of the pub from the Parish Council. The Society exists in order to carry on business for the benefit of the community of Ashton Hayes. Assets owned by the Society are locked into the CBS, and will be used solely for community benefit. AHCHL is governed by the AHCHL rules, which are available on our website at https://goldenlionashtonhayes.co.uk/.

The membership of the Society is made up of its shareholders, with one vote per shareholding, regardless of size.

The present management committee is made up of eight Ashton Hayes residents whose personal profiles are in Appendix 1.

The committee will:

• Stand down en bloc at the first AGM, as obliged under the constitution, when individuals may offer themselves for re-election
• Be selected by members’ votes at the AGM each year
• Provide an annual report of activities and finances to all members, and an annual return to the FCA
• Provide monitoring information as required by any grant bodies

Plunkett Foundation recommendations

The Plunkett Foundation recommends that co-operative pubs adopt legal structures which enable genuine community ownership with equal and democratic control. In general we would expect this to include:

• Open and voluntary membership
• One member one vote
• The interests of the pub to be linked into community control, dis-allowing any one member from having greater control than others
• No profit distribution to members based on investment (other than payment of interest)

The Legal structure which best facilitates this is a Community Benefit Society (CBS) The majority of Community Co-operatives, 61%, are registered as Community Benefit Societies (prior to 2014 known as Industrial and Provident Societies of the Benefit of the Community). This structure exists to benefit the wider and collective interests of a community, rather than solely that of its staff, members or committee. This fits with the aims and objectives of most community groups that are setting up a community pub i.e. they are doing it out of concern for those who will be particularly disadvantaged without such a service. A Community Benefit Society structure also encourages and promotes the role of active membership, which is why we see them having an average of 207 members per pub, compared to 171 in pubs registered with other legal structures.

Source; Co ‑ operative Pubs, A better form of business 2017. Plunkett Foundation

See Appendix No 5

Work Completed to Date

A small group of villagers got together in the summer of 2016 and approached the Parish Council for support. This resulted in the establishment of the Golden Lion working group (GLWG) a sub group of the Parish Council. Latterly this became an independent Community Benefit Society.

The GLWG started detailed work on the project, electing volunteers to take on specific roles, such as preparation on the share prospectus and this business plan, fund raising and publicity in early 2017. A management committee was drawn together from residents with suitable skills and enthusiasm for the project The GLWG took advice from the Plunkett Foundation, other community pubs and a number of other bodies and individuals. They reviewed the large amount of community consultation data available as part of the Ashton Hayes Village Plan and Neighbourhood plan processes to identify the level of need and appetite for a community owned pub.

The GLWG arranged for a commercial valuation of the Pub (by Thelwell Chartered Surveyors, Jul 2016) and informal discussions were held with the owner of the pub to establish the interest in selling and gauge the likelihood of a reasonable sale price being agreed. It became apparent that the owner was not interested in selling at anything like a reasonable market price based on its original sale price and current condition. However GLWG believed that it should make a formal offer before proceeding with any Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO).

A public meeting was held on the 25th of October to further build on this data: see Appendix 4. This detailed consultation demonstrated the practical support for and viability of a community purchase of the Pub and the setting up of AHCHL. If no commercial organization came forward to establish and run the pub on a sustainable basis, then it t was overwhelmingly accepted that the only way to truly safeguard the long term future and to ensure retention of the Golden Lion as a community asset, was for it to be purchased by the community.

Considerable help and support has been received from various other Community Pubs and the forums on the Plunkett Foundation’s website, and from the Tendering branch of CAMRA.

Market Summary

Competitors

Each of the neighbouring local villages has one or more Pubs, which have been benefiting from the closure of The Golden Lion. There are two pubs within reasonable walking distance and three pubs within reasonable cycling distance which villagers have been choosing to use. We plan to entice the local community back to The Golden Lion with a warm, friendly community local with good food – within walking distance; and hope to encourage custom from surrounding villages to give us a try as a “community run local” too. See Appendix 3.

Our primary target market is the local community here in Ashton Hayes. Mouldsworth, Manley and the surrounding villages such as Kelsall and Tarvin are all within a 20-30 minute walk of the Pub or a 10 minute bicycle ride.

The Golden Lion is close to both short and long-distance footpaths, and has a history of being a popular stop for hikers and walking groups. It also has a large car park to leave their cars when walking. This may well be able to be utilised as a multi-use car park or local park and share car park during the day. It may well be able to provide suitable parking for the Community Shop. The Pub’s position is also in a good location for cycling clubs and cycling families, being on a popular cycling route.

Historically there has been a strong seasonal trend to trade, with the summer months, Christmas, and Friday and Saturday evenings, being much busier. We believe that we can counter some of this imbalance with community events such as quizzes, music evenings and offering food “specials” on non-event nights. We also envisage that our core customer base – the village community – will continue to support us over the winter.

Related Market Analysis

It is envisaged that there would be significant uplift in the use of other village facilities such as the Community Shop, Recreation Area and Post Office should The Golden Lion be reopened as a Pub and Hub.

Customer Need

The October 2017 consultation, conducted as part of the villages wider consultation programs indicated that, should The Golden Lion reopen under community ownership, a moderate increase in Pub usage could be expected. Reasons cited in the survey for not using the Pub in the past, included “poor service and welcome”, “poor quality food”, “children not well catered for”, “price” and unfriendly staff. The survey identified needs including external seating, general and themed entertainment, events, activities for young people and senior citizen meals and internet access.

Conclusions from the survey included:

Community benefit Society

Very strong support was provided for the establishment of a Community Benefit Society. 85% of surveys returned Strongly Agreed/Agreed with this proposed legal management arrangement. Only 2% Disagreed/Strongly Disagreed.

Tenant to run pub and business

The general view from comments received and debate at the consultation meeting was that the village would prefer the pub to be run as a viable commercial pub rather than community owned. However, if a commercial buyer did not materialise, and the pub had to be community owned, then from the survey, the very strong view was that it should then be run by a Tenant. 82% of surveys returned Strongly Agreed/Agreed that it should be operated by a Tenant rather than by the village directly on a day to day basis. Only 5% Strongly Disagreed/Disagreed.

Societies or Club Usage

There was from the survey good support for the community pub to be a base from which to operate local clubs and societies. 48% of surveys returned Agreed/Strongly Agreed that the pub should be a focus for local club and society activity. A further 39% were neutral on this matter and 15% of respondents Disagreed/Strongly Disagreed.

Likely to Buy Shares

There was very strong support from the surveys returned that they would be willing to invest in shares for the funding of a community pub/hub. 84% of surveys returned Agreed/Strongly Agreed with 4% Strongly Disagreed/Disagreed

Likely to Volunteer

Most services volunteered related to decorating, renovating the pub and gardening. There were also offers of assistance with the procurement of the pub. However apart from gardening there was only a couple of volunteers who expressed an interest in volunteering to work in the pub on an ongoing basis. 39% of respondents Agreed/Strongly Agreed, they would volunteer their services. However 37% of respondents were Neutral and 26% of people Disagreed/Strongly Disagreed. This was consistent with the views expressed at the meeting and the preference for a Tenant.

In the survey 61% of respondents said they would use the pub weekly with a further 31% indicating that they would visit monthly.

Additional Facilities

As would be expected the very High priority focus was on providing a good pub facility with associated pub food. These were 98% and 84% high priority respectively.

Of lesser but still High priority was the provision of:-

• A venue for Social Events; 71% High Priority
• Parking for the shop; 64% High Priority
• A Society Meeting Place venue; 63% High priority

At a medium level of other listed uses i.e. were:-

• Private hire residents; 43% High Priority
• PC meeting place; 41% High Priority
• Wi-Fi Café; 37% High Priority

At a relatively low level of importance were:-

• CWaC mobile services; 31% High Priority
• Car park for bus; 27% High Priority
• Private hire business; 27% High Priority
• B&B; 10% High Priority

The community freehold nature of The Golden Lion will also benefit the community by way of more competitive product pricing and better product choice.

The Pub may also provide employment for local people and business opportunities for the suppliers of local produce and the village Community Shop. Other local organisations may benefit through joint ventures and links with the Pub and its facilities such as the WI and OPAL.

Marketing Strategy

We have reviewed the detailed data acquired during the previous consultation programs and distributed questionnaires to attendees of the Public Meeting in October 2017 and subsequently to the wider parish. This has further demonstrated the continued strong support for a community pub. We will work with the newly appointed tenant to draw up and agree a suitable medium term marketing strategy for the pub once they are in place.

We already have a loyal Facebook following @TheGoldenLionAshtonHayes page and have set up a website at https://goldenlionashtonhayes.co.uk/ and we are also developing a growing, securely managed, mailing list. We regularly post updates and publish reports in both the Around Ashton village magazine and various websites. We have been interviewed and featured on Radio and TV and have appeared in numerous local and regional newspaper articles. We will continue to update local press as the project develops and plan to approach newspapers and TV stations with the story as we hit major milestones. CAMRA are supporting us, with frequent mentions in their newsletters, as well as advice.

We are exploring the idea of marketing campaigns for special deals on food for regular groups or village societies, pensioner lunches, theme nights, music nights etc. We will where practical, be sourcing local suppliers and we envisage that the Community Shop will feature heavily as a supplier wherever possible. To raise both funds and public awareness we have held a quiz and a pop-up pubs in the village: see the website for details. We are continuing to raise the profile of the Golden Lion procurement by holding further fund raising events with the objective of encouraging engagement in the project and positioning the Pub at the heart of our community.

Financial Benefits

The Society is committed to re-investing profits for the benefit of the community. Shareholders views will be sought to determine what proportion of profits is to be re-invested in the Society, and the level of interest that is to be paid to shareholders. We have assumed that no interest is paid in the first three years, and that no more than 50% of net surplus is paid as interest in any year.

Social Benefits

In 2010 the village shop opened as a Community run enterprise. This initiative has a well proven track record of delivering community services and solid financial returns. We envisage learning from and building upon this wealth of experience and understanding of a successful community run enterprise.

The demographics of the local area are clearly identified through the responses to the last census document , with the largest group of people being 46-65, but also with a significant number of younger resident, this is now likely to increase with the new development currently under construction alongside the Methodist Chapel. We also have a large number of retired people. The high number of older people in the area, along with the projected increase in life expectancy, and those risks associated with social isolation and loneliness (social, mental, physical) all emphasise the importance of mitigating such risks. Although most villagers own a car, many people rely on the infrequent bus service to Chester or Northwich, making the simplest trip for some a major challenge. We believe that a vibrant Pub and Hub would go a long way towards reducing social isolation here in Ashton Hayes and the surrounding villages.

When the AHCHL successfully acquires The Golden Lion, the whole community should benefit by genuinely feeling part of the project that saved their “local” and take an active interest in the future prosperity of the Pub and hub, increasing village cohesion.

We anticipate that this community enterprise will:

• Provide a meeting place for the community, both in terms of a traditional Pub but also where new and existing groups can meet both during the day and evenings
• Encourage the creation of new community groups
• Offer an opportunity for people to volunteer and engage, to feel that they are directly helping the community in a very tangible way
• Support the “can-do” attitude along with other social enterprises in the village, providing increasing numbers of people willing to serve on such bodies as, for example, the Parish Council
• Maintain a positive impact on property valuations
• Deliver on clearly identified needs and requirements of the Community

We will measure the social success of our venture in terms of the number of villagers supporting the, either as customers, or as volunteers. Villagers who are shareholders will have a direct say in the future of the society, through Members’ meetings and representation on the Committee. We will also actively encourage other communities to follow our example, and will be delighted to offer support to similar groups.

Proposed Scheme – Pub and Hub

We intend to buy The Golden Lion in the village of Ashton Hayes, Cheshire. It closed as an operating rural pub business early in January 2013.

The Property

On taking over the property we expect to undertake some refurbishment of the property immediately, as referred to earlier, to improve the building fabric and facilities and to make the first floor accommodation attractive to a new tenant and to encourage an earlier opening date.

Opening times

The precise opening times of the pub will be a matter for the tenant who will run the licensed business on behalf of the community, but we will be looking for a tenant licensee who will open the pub as a minimum for six evenings a week and day times over the weekends including Bank Holidays. Consistency and reliability of opening times along with access to facilities being provided a as Hub are key issue for local residents and we will make it clear to the tenants we appoint that opening times must be well advertised and strictly adhered to.

Provision of food

We also know from the feedback that it is essential that the pub provides good quality food at affordable prices. Food will be available initially depending upon demand – but the aim is to build up food sales by generating a reputation for good quality, simple pub fare, using local produce where practical. It is recognised that moving towards a position where food sales represent at least 50% of the income should be the aim of the tenants and to achieve this they will need to offer food of good quality throughout the week. We want to see classic, simple Pub food, prepared with care, from fresh, local ingredients. It won’t be a long menu; quality comes first but it should cater for most tastes. We also want to see this mixed up a bit with theme nights, seasonal specials, and a regular change of menu. We would like to see a children’s menu that has real food on it and hopefully a regular Sunday lunch.

The pub will attract both villagers and visitors to the area. Once purchased as a community enterprise, the pub will quickly attract local users from its former customer base. With local people being members of the Society and shareholders in the business, they will be more committed to using the pub themselves and to bringing their friends and family with them. Building its reputation in the area as an attractive venue for drink, food and entertainment will take longer, there is a real opportunity to market the pub with walkers and cyclist who pass through the area.

We have a clear picture based on the consultation results of both the importance and the kind of Pub and Hub we want: Source; Ashton Hayes Neighbourhood Plan Survey

A cosy, inviting place, with open fires in a prominent position! Wooden furniture with a variety of seating will complement the classic country colours on the walls. It must be both family and dog friendly. Draught beer – hopefully at least three bitters – and we’re talking to a microbrewer about making one of them truly local. On the practical side, we want a comfortable area for eating and modern attractive loos with less abled access and egress throughout public areas.

We will also require sandwiches, snacks and cakes to be provided, and you will be able to get a decent mug of tea or pot of coffee during the day. It may be possible we can do this in conjunction with the current café. We want to make this a place for all the village, and are thinking about promotions such, OAP lunches, and meal deals. The Hub rooms will be made available to local organisations for meetings or social gatherings.

We want the Golden Lion Hub to be at the heart of village events and to support and encourage local good causes and to actively promote social cohesion. It is a key priority for us to work with existing village enterprises and businesses to ensure we mutually benefit all the services currently on offer in the village.

We’d like to liven the place up occasionally, perhaps with varied music events, or by holding quiz nights etc.

Fundamentally we will be driven our customers and Hub user’s needs. A lot of them will, after all, be our shareholders!

Management Structure

It is important that the correct management structure and tenant team is in place to deliver against the identified marketing requirements and needs. The tenant will be responsible for day-to-day management issues, and for the employment and management of staff. They will also order supplies as required, according to agreed guidelines set by the Pub Management sub-committee. A Pub sub-committee will liaise closely with the tenant team, a dedicated point of contact with agreed delegated decision making authority will be put in place for the tenant providing flexibility in decision making and sorting out issues as they arise. The full committee will own responsibility for monitoring performance against the tenancy agreement. We expect meetings of the sub-committee (including the tenant/manager) to take place at least monthly during the first 12 months of operation. The main committee will work with the sub- committee to make strategic decisions, such as the direction and financial performance of the Pub. Members will be invited to comment and offer comment on strategic decisions, on a regular basis. Members will be encouraged to submit suggestions and comments to committee meetings and ask direct questions of the tenant answers to which will be made available to members via a secure ‘members only’ section of our website.

Volunteers are an essential part of our plan. They not only provide the necessary labour to allow us to refurbish and open the pub at as low a reasonable cost as possible, but provide that crucial link to the community. This reliance will be reflected by one of the committee members appointment as volunteer coordinator. They will have responsibility for recruitment and training and will organise the rota for volunteers. Health and safety during the refurbishment will be managed by the appointed contractor and monitored by the committee. One aim will be to work with local people to enable them to achieve formally recognised qualifications through their volunteering so they can go on and use their experience in other jobs in the future.

Golden Lion Business Model

We see the previous decline in the pub’s fortunes as being caused by a combination of high rent and beer costs and a lack of investment by the previous owners. It has the potential to operate profitably but ownership by the community gives the opportunity to ensure that it continues to be successful in the long- term. The success of the venture will be largely dependent upon:

• Finding commercially astute, experienced, committee members who have time to devote to the project and are prepared to do so in a voluntary capacity
• Recruitment of an experienced, reliable, commercially astute and socially skilled tenant and members of staff. Specialist external assistance can be sought to support the recruitment of an experienced tenant. The tenant and staff must have high standards in all aspects of the business, and be motivated by the desire to create a really special pub valued by the community and attractive to those from further afield. We will encourage the tenant to employ staff who live locally
• A rental figure of 50% of net profit per annum (Based on British Beer and Pub Association Survey) is to be charged by AHCHL to the Tenant for use of the facilities

The pub will be run to make a profit. The tenant will pay a base rent to the community, up to a predetermined level of profitability. Above this level and as the business grows, the tenant will share the additional profit, in line with a predetermined formula, with the community. The intent being that both the community and the tenant share in the success of the venture.

The rental income to the community will be used to service loans etc., invest in the fabric of the business (e.g. refurbishment) and be distributed to the shareholders via interest payments. The society will hold an annual general meeting for all shareholders and may have further meetings to discuss plans and progress.

Financial Analysis

There are two inter-related elements for the financial performance of the Golden Lion i.e. those for Ashton Hayes Community Hub Ltd and Tenant business. AHCHL will buy the property, refurbish it and get it ready for business by taking on a tenant on say a 3 year contract, to whom a rent for use of the facilities will be charged by AHCHL. The profit earned by the tenant will be used to fund the rent to AHCL and the remainder will be for the benefit of the tenant.

Ashton Hayes Community Hub Ltd. Profit and Loss

The below analysis provides the P&L for AHCHL. It assumes that:

• Only the minimum £250,000 is raised from the Share Offer
• VAT of £64,000 will be incurred with the purchase of the Golden Lion and this is provisioned for in the funding required. However it is expected that this VAT will be able to be reclaimed late in Year 1
• 3 sources of refurbishment costings have been obtained as follows; Cheshire Barn Conversions £100,000, Tant Brothers Builders £96,000, Dominic McDermott Builders £100,000
• A contingency fund of £20,000 is included in the Setup costs to cover as yet unknown/uncertain costs. This has been passed through to the bottom line as a Cash Reserve to carry forward into Year 1
• A rental figure of 50% of net tenant operating profit per annum is assumed (Based on British Beer and Pub Association Survey), to be charged by AHCHL to the Tenant for use of the facilities
• The sales and associated sales related costs in year 1 are reduced by 25% to reflect the time needed to refurbish the pub and recruit a tenant before trading. This has consequently reduced the Tenant rent in Year1
• Loans are paid back by year 5 in order to reduce interest payments and satisfy expected loan conditions
• The Mortgage is started to be paid back in years 4 and 5 as soon as cash reserves permit
• Further refurbishment /investment by AHCHL is provisioned for years 2 and 3, assuming cash reserves have been accumulated to support the investment. This may be deferred or modified if a longer period is needed to develop the business
• The tenant pays insurance on the building
• Accountancy fees have yet to be established but are expected to be in the rage £500-£1000 per annum. There is sufficient room in the projections to accommodate these later

Tenant Business

Profit and Loss

Below provides the high level projected Profit and Loss for the Tenant business essentially establishing its viability and key assumptions. This shows the expected rent as derived from profits. The key points are that:-

• Forecasts for the sales performance of The Golden Lion have been based on the experience of the projected trading position provided by an independent consultant, who has examined the premises and the local market
• Cost of ‘wet’ drink sales is expected to have a margin of 45%, with food sales at 65%, giving a gross profit margin of 60%, conservatively lower than industry standards
• Total costs and overheads have been obtained from advice from the Plunkett funded independent consultant as well as from information obtained from others in this marketplace
• For the tenant year 1 will be a full year as they will essentially start after the refurbishment and thus the Income, Net Operating profit and Rent will be proportionally higher in line with the Total costs and overheads
• Full year cost overheads have been included for Year 1 at this time, until detailed start up plans are prepared with the tenant. Consequently some cost savings are likely and potentially a higher net operating profit

Detailed Tenant Financial Profile

The following analysis is derived from a detailed forecast of the projected sales and associated operating costs taking account likely seasonal variations. The following Cash flow analysis for the tenant assumes a full working year and is for illustrative purposes only as exact profile will depend on when the business starts. The Greene King models have been used for this as they handle a number of complexities including the different rates of VAT incurred.

The associated assumptions are that:

• Sales will change +5% each year after year 1
• Expenses will change +2% each year after year 1
• Assumed all money raised is spent prior to handing building to tenant to manage
• Assume hub registers for VAT and is able to recover VAT on purchase
• Assume 50% of net operating profit will be paid by tenant by way of rent
• For tenants forecast have used Greene King model with rent adjustment as above 7
• Assumed gross profit on wet sales at 45%, food at 65%
• Turnover used (£400,000) is based on figure quoted in MJD Hughes market appraisal report
• Assumed that tenant pays insurance on building

Risks Analysis

The principal risks are:

NOTE: It is interesting to note that according to Plunkett Foundation research, there is no evidence we are aware of showing a community share model of pub ownership that has failed to date. We are very grateful for the on-going support and advice from the Plunkett Foundation itself, and from the many other community pubs that have freely shared their expertise.

Appendix 1 – Committee

An interim Management Committee has been appointed to serve until the first Annual General Meeting. At this meeting all 8 members of the current committee will stand down and elections will be held for the new Management Committee. The initial Management Committee comprises the below 8 local founder members:

Appendix 2 – Shares Prospectus

Can be found at https://goldenlionashtonhayes.co.uk/share-offer/

Appendix 3 – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) Analysis

• The whole community is involved (evidence: attending meetings and socials and helping with leaflet drops). The committee is a part of the community – everyone knows everyone else. Many committee members and local community organisations have previous experience of community run ventures.
• The range and depth of skills and enthusiasm on the committee and helpers. An ex-landlord of the Golden Lion is supporting and advising our Committee.
• Profits (apart from a small interest payment, if feasible) are invested back into the business or the community. We can continue to build on success!
• We do not intend to fail. But if the Pub proved to be unviable, we will own the freehold which is likely to appreciate in the long term. This makes the proposition more attractive to investors with no stake in the community, as although profits will be fed back into community projects, their capital investment will be safe.
• The CBS business model requires that all interest payments are voted on by all members – at one vote per share holding, of whatever size – so it’s a fair way of working.
• Several local traders have offered their services.
• We have had tremendous support from other communities who have done similar things, and from the Plunkett Foundation.
• The Committee has experience in community enterprises and businesses though other members may not have such levels of experience. Mitigation: the team will fill the gaps in their experience by learning from others e.g. Plunkett mentoring scheme. Do plenty of research. Find other experienced managers who will work with us.
• The committee are almost all working people doing this in their spare time. Illness or job needs might take people away for some time. Mitigation: We have set up the main and sub committees so that critical posts can be covered.
• At this point in time, we don’t know how much we will raise in shares – and so budgeting for a potential loan is necessary. Mitigation: Financial plan to cover all potential options until we can eliminate them.
• There is a reliance on volunteers. Mitigation: do as much talking to people and village groups as we can; make people feel that it really is their resource, which relies on them. Volunteers are already running events in the village as part of the Save The Golden Lion campaign.

Opportunities

• The only Pub easily accessible without a car for majority of local residents. Walking and cycling clubs pass The Golden Lion regularly.
• We hear from other villages that have done this successfully that it gives a great boost to the community, in terms of “can-do” spirit.
• Owning the freehold will mean that we control the community asset. We aren’t going to be a tied house. We have local micro breweries and direct links to the Community Shop – we can act very locally!
• We can be very responsive to community needs, both in terms of what we sell, and in terms of how we want the Pub and Hub to feel.
• We understand our demographics very well.
• We have extensive local consultation results supporting the project.
• The committee is a part of the community – everyone knows everyone; risk of treading on well- stubbed toes. Mitigation: Tread as carefully as possible!
• We do not know the structural condition of the building but we have a building surveyor lined up to complete a survey. Mitigation: A Schedule of Wants and Repairs will be commissioned.
• We must have the right people to run the Pub, who can work with the committee and share our vision. Getting the right people remains the biggest risk to the successful and profitable operation of the Pub. However, this risk would exist under any business model. Mitigation: The tenancy agreement model at least allows us to let go any manager who turns out not to be right for us, and try again.
• Insufficient volunteers. Mitigation: If there are insufficient volunteers, then more funding will be required for repairs, decorating, landscaping and future maintenance. This may impact the viability of the business which is discussed below.
• The business is not viable for example due to a lack of custom. Mitigation: the business will not be allowed to trade at a loss. In the worst case scenario, the business will own a pub and land, and will have to dispose of these assets for the benefit of the local community. Once all loans have been repaid and shares redeemed, the CBS model guarantees that any residue will be retained by the local community.

Appendix 4 – Ashton Hayes Pub is the Hub Proposals Survey – (completed October 2017)

Appendix 5 – October 2017 Consultation Survey Analysis – Key Messages

From the public meeting held at Ashton Hayes School on the 25th of October 2017 and the subsequent whole village survey, 105 completed surveys were returned by 31/12/17. This representing approximately 25% of the households in the Parish of Ashton Hayes and Horton-cum-Peel. 8 of the surveys returned were from outside of the parish. The surveys were completed on behalf of the 186 adults in the households. The key survey questions are as below where the percentages represent the response in terms of the proportion of the adults represented in the surveys

Appendix  6 – Co ‑ operative Pubs, A better form of business 2017. Plunkett Foundation

https://www.plunkett.co.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=17f16962-d582-467c-a4db-217313e9cf0d

Appendix 7 – Supporting data provided by previous Landlords of the Golden Lion

• Similar establishments opening a fresh start pub businesses have seen turnover go up from £300 in the first week to £30,000 in the second, word gets out and everybody wants to test you out on opening to see the offering. It is critically important to get this right or people will not return.
• Quality service is vital, anything less than brilliant will be reported back on trip advisor.
• Coffee is one of the biggest profit generators and it may be prudent to rent a quality coffee machine from the outset.
• Received advice is to open every day but Mondays, this should be from day one. (Open Bank Holidays as well)
• Pay tenant a bonus based on turnover.
• Cleaning should be largely done by staff coming on shift.
• Gross margins of 65% on food and 40% on bar sales is assumed.
• Good chefs will largely eliminate food waste.
• Assumed we will have 100% rebate on commercial rates as in a rural area.
• Low initial bank charges e.g. HSBC is offering 2 years free banking for start ups at present.
• Renting/buying kitchen equipment initially.
• Payments by credit card essential. Banking cash is on average 1% of bankings. To give ‘cash-back’ is cheaper than banking cash.

Privacy Overview

Develop a plan for your hub

Our community hubs model is evidence-based and has a strong focus on achieving major outcomes for children, families, schools and communities. for this reason, it’s important for every hub leader to set clear goals and objectives, and collect evidence that shows how these goals are being achieved..

Once you have a good understanding of the needs of your hub families and school, it’s important to think strategically about how your hub can provide them with the best support. Outcomes-based plans help us think through what we want to achieve, what we need to do in order to reach our goals, and how we will measure whether or not we’ve been successful. Each of our hubs is guided by an annual outcomes-based plan that is tailored to their local needs. Developing a plan will give you a clear picture from the start about what needs to happen for your hub to have the greatest positive impact on your school community. This planning task is best done before setting up your timetable of programs and activities.

Your hub support coordinator will provide templates and guidance to help you develop the plan. We also suggest you use the 1-page NCHP outcomes and objectives summary (see page 40) as a reference guide when developing your priorities.

Report progress

At the end of each school term, you will be asked to submit data to your support coordinator about your hub’s activities and the level of participation from families. You will also be asked to provide at least one real-life case study about how your hub has had an impact on people’s lives. See Priority 10 (page 23) for more guidance around what we’re looking for from hubs in terms of reporting and success stories. By 28 February and 31 August each year, your school principal also need to submit financial reports about the hub’s operations to your support agencies.

Update your plan

You will be asked to review and update your outcomes-based plan every year. This is a good time to check in with your families to find out if the hub has been meeting their needs and if there are other programs or services they would like to access in the coming year.

What works – insights from hub leaders

• Set aside some time in your diary every week to complete reporting and administration tasks. This is a key part of your role as it’s important to collect real evidence of how your hub is connecting with and helping families.
• Working with families who trust you and are relying on you can add pressure to try to do as much as you can to help as many people as possible. However, it’s really important to remember that it’s OK to say ‘No’. Your support coordinator and other hub leaders can help you with strategies for managing the expectations of parents and school staff.
• Your role is not designed to be a caseworker for individual parents or families. And you will never be able to please everyone, especially working part time. It’s far more important is to focus on the quality and sustainability of the programs being offered in your hub.

Fahriye shares tips around how to plan for your hub and record successes.

Speak to your support coordinator who will provide you with templates and help you to complete an outcome based plan for your hub..

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Building a community hub: From concept plan to implementation

YWCA Hamilton recently opened the doors of the Putman Family YWCA, a renewal of their location at 51 Ottawa Street North in Hamilton. The new facility is a dynamic community hub combining affordable housing, economic development infrastructure, and state-of the-art green building technology. As is the case with many successful projects, planning was key right from the beginning. The challenge with this project was understanding the local context in order to facilitate the development of a community hub from concept to implementation.

YWCA Hamilton commissioned Civicplan to develop a concept plan for the community hub and was guided by three important themes:

• Who would it serve? Understand the needs of the local community and stakeholders through engagement to establish a vision for the community hub.
• How will it integrate with the neighbourhood? Understand how the physical building is situated within an existing and transforming neighbourhood and business district, as well as how it fit within existing and future municipal plans and policies.
• How will it advance important social and economic development goals? Identify opportunities for partnerships and funding to make the plan a reality.

What emerged from this work were two clear directions: first to create flexible space for core services, such as supporting seniors and childcare; and second, to develop a centre of innovation supporting women’s entrepreneurship, employment, and training. The centre was proposed as key for building future partnerships with surrounding businesses and community leaders in education and industry, as well as being a draw for women in the Hamilton/Halton regions, more generally.

Click here to read the full article from Y Magazine of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute

Building our Collective Commons

Pinhoe Community Hub

Pinhoe Community Hub was registered as a Charitable Interest Company (CIO) in July 2019. It’s working name, Friends of Pinhoe Library , reflects how the group began following a campaign to secure the longterm future of Pinhoe Library.

TRUSTEES Val Dixon – who some of you may know as one of Pinhoe’s Labour councillors (2004), former Lord Mayor of Exeter and recognised as Honorary Alderman in 2009 – has been longstanding chair of Friends of Pinhoe Library but stepped down last year to focus on her work as Trustee of the Hub. Other Trustees are: Cllr Duncan Wood (Labour, 2016-18, 2018-22, trustee of America Hall and Pinhoe Community Association ), Cllr Tracy Adams (retired teacher and member of Pinhoe Pantomime , Labour councillor elected to Devon County 2021), Wendy Bodell (Trustee of Whipton Community Association , editor-publisher of Pinhoe Press and new Chair of Friends of Pinhoe Library ), Rachael Hodgson-Magee (schools fundraising specialist and head of client services for management consultancy Halpin Partnership ), Lynne Rose (over 30 years experience with Devon Library Services ) and Angela Roberts (longstanding Secretary of America Hall for over 40 years).

CHARITABLE INTEREST COMPANY (CIO) A CIO is a charity regulated only by the Charity Commission and not by Companies House. This reduces paperwork (and thus cost-effective) and is generally recognised as being advantageous to trustees with no previous experience of running a business, although trustees have management responsibility and are liable for breaches of trust and any wrong or fraudulent activity following usual charity standards. Hub Business Plan: “The new structure provides an asset lock, a distinct organisational legal identify and limited liability. Although the CIO has a healthy reserves budget, sufficient to see the Community Hub through the crucial first 24 months of operation, the charity will retain reserves sufficient to meet its legal obligations should it need to be wound up.”

PUBLIC SURVEYS In 2015, 2500 surveys were delivered within the Pinhoe electoral ward, with 234 responses received (9%): “Feedback indicated that respondents wanted to see an expansion of community facilities. The most frequent requests were for extended and flexible opening hours, a café and a new, purpose-built community building to complement existing provision” There was a further survey in July 2017 receiving 395 respondents (no info on how many delivered so no percentage response available) >

According to the Hub’s business plan, 81% preferred the Station Road Playing Fields site. “192 narrative answers were analysed at a community event, which led to a publicly accessible toilet being incorporated into the plans. The response demonstrated a sustained high level of support for a Community Hub from within the Pinhoe community”

VISION FOR THE BUILDING Drawings are available to view on the Hub noticeboard in Station Road park. Reflecting results from public consultation, the building is proposed to comprise of: • purpose-built library (94 m²) securing the future of Pinhoe Library; • Community Café (83 m²); • multi-use meeting space (83 m²); • 2 self-sufficient business hub and workspaces (27 m² , 22 m² with adjacent room (85 m²); • changing rooms for sports and activities.

Although the business plan proposes the building design will be ‘eco-friendly’ in line with Exeter City Council’s Net Zero Plan, no further detail is currently available. ECC declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 and have committed to being a Carbon Neutral city by 2030. Plans and budgets are not yet updated following the Covid pandemic

BUILDING DEVELOPMENT COSTS The build cost is currently estimated at just under £2m. The Hub plans state: “The community aims to raise £765,000 from a range of funders including public, private and grant making bodies and trusts and through local fundraising. Added to this are potential contributions from property developers through CIL and Section 106 funding. To this end, a comprehensive and detailed Funding Strategy has been developed. A Fundraising Group has been established to raise some local funding, although its primary role is to keep the local community engaged in and informed about the project. It is envisaged that local fundraising events organised by the Fundraising Group will continue following construction and will support revenue costs and local social events operating out of the Hub. The aim is to appoint a professional bid writer to approach larger trusts and grant-making bodies to secure the balance of funding required to construct the Hub”

FUNDING Hub Trustees have presented the following budget to Exeter City Council as part of their funding proposal: Friends of Pinhoe Library received initial funding of £100k from Exeter City Council for a feasibility study (this has been subject to transparency concerns now resolved http://committees.exeter.gov.uk/documents/s76629/Exeter%20City%20Council%20-%20Signed%20Statement%20of%20Reasons%20-%20REDACTED.pdf )

Full details, including the Hub’s business plan, are available at this link: https://committees.exeter.gov.uk/documents/g6738/Public%20reports%20pack%2028th-Feb-2022%2017.30%20Executive.pdf?T=10

Following presentation of the Hub’s business plan to the Council meeting in February 2022 , the committee formally accepted the funding request for in excess of £1m .

TIMELINE Although the Hub social media pages proposes construction will take place “2021/22, with an opening date 2022/23”, there’s no current information on the building schedule. The Hub business plan suggests: “Once project funds are secured, the tendering, build and fit out is expected to take 16 months”

IMPORTANT NOTE: Planning permission has been granted but the Hub does not yet appear on the Council’s Infrastructure Funding Statement, suggesting the timeline for development lies beyond the dates promoted . Moreover, the Hub’s business plan will need to be revisited to factor in significant build cost inflation alongside increasing service costs, as it adapts to new requirements for covid precautions and the prolonged energy crisis.

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Berkeley County opens first of 5 community resource hubs

B ERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - The Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce celebrated the opening Thursday of their first community resource hub to help provide access to computer workspaces and free Wi-Fi.

The center is located in the Keith School Museum off Clements Ferry Road. It features computers with webcams, printers, eight Chromebooks, and desks for visitors to use.

Users will have access to telehealth and online education services, substance abuse resources, and training on how to use these devices as many may not know how to use them. There will also be someone at the facility assisting when needed.

Berkeley County Chamber President Todd Buddin says that this has been in the works since 2015 and that it’s important to have these hubs for the communities that need access to these resources.

“To be able to bring these facilities to these communities, it’s life-changing,” Buddin says. “We’ve got Daniel Island and it’s a really nice community, but sometimes we forget about Cross and Saint Stephen and some of those places that, you know, honestly, might not have running water, may not have some of this stuff that other places have.”

He says this is just one of five resource hubs they plan to open in the Berkeley County area. The other four community resource hub locations will be at the Cross Community Center, Tri-Community Center, Alvin Recreation Center, and Wassamassaw Recreation Center. Buddin says they plan to have the rest open in the next few months.

He says he thinks the state wants to have more resource hubs like this in all of the other counties, and that even though Berkeley County was the first he thinks the idea will spread across the state quickly.

Berkeley County School Board member Yvonne Bradley says she represents the Cross Community Center, which is the site of one of the future hubs, and that the community doesn’t have an excuse anymore for getting access to these resources.

“The Wi-Fi is there, so they have access to the broadband internet. There is no excuse,” Bradley says. “The computers are there. They now have the Chromebooks, so all they have lacking is the knowledge, so this hub will provide the knowledge they need and there is no excuse now. You ask the question; you get an immediate answer. There will be trainees and volunteers who will be able to give you what you need right then and there on the spot.”

Google’s head of Southeast external affairs and government relations, Lilyn Hester, says with everything being online now, there is a digital divide issue that needs to be addressed. She says that Google is excited to partner with the Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce to be able to provide Chromebooks for these hubs so people can access things like online health services and find job opportunities.

“Getting online is very important because everything is online, it’s very key, but we do not want to leave anyone behind when it comes to getting online,” Hester says.

The resource hubs are open for everyone to use, not just Berkeley County residents.

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Alvernia’s O’Pake Institute Places Three Finalists in Business Plan Competition

by Alvernia University

Pictured above, from left to right: MBA Candidate and CFO of Emivero, Jack Short; Owner of Emivero, Tobi Somori ‘24; and Executive Director of Student and Client Services, Michelle Conway, MBA.

Alvernia University’s  O’Pake Institute  placed three finalists in the  2024 TecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition , including collegiate finalist and Alvernia student entrepreneur Oluwatobiloba (Tobi) Somori ‘24 with her startup technology company Emivero and two high school finalists from Governor Mifflin School District and Wilson School District.

“Having finalists at the tecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition for the third year in a row exemplifies Alvernia and O’Pake’s mission to drive economic development while facilitating experiential learning opportunities through our unique student-powered entrepreneurial model,” said Alvernia Vice President of Research Economic Development and Innovation and Chief Operating Officer of the O’Pake Institute, Rodney S. Ridley Sr., Ph.D., RTTP. “All three students were able to strategically formulate and pitch their ideas while Alvernia students in the O’Pake Fellows Program helped them cross the finish line. I am grateful to be able to see these transformations unfold each year.”

College student teams in the region, like the Emivero team, compete in the collegiate division. In addition, there are high school applicant categories. This is the first year that the O’Pake Institute has mentored high school students in the competition through its Empower Ed Program. Senior in the Governor Mifflin School District, Braeden Ruth placed third in the High School Business Plan Competition with his entrepreneurial venture BR Vending, and Senior in the Wilson School District, Carter Anderson was a finalist in the  Big Idea Essay Competition.  There is also a non-collegiate division where startups can participate, which O’Pake Institute SPARK Business Incubator client  OCOA Beauty won last year.

Somori worked with MBA Candidate and O’Pake Institute Graduate Assistant of Startup Ventures and Investments, Jack Short, throughout the process of the competition with her business, Emivero. Evimero is a startup technology company aiming to aid universities, students, and all users in retention and engagement. The time-management and student engagement app works to retain current students and recruit non-traditional students.

“I learned grit, the importance of feedback, and how to pivot,” said Somori. “All the hard work paid off. To me, it was very validating to know that we are past the idea stage, and the industry experts who served as judges for the competitions agreed with us.”

Competitors are responsible for deliverables in four areas, including an executive summary, competitor analysis, proforma financials, and a pitch deck, which they presented on April 18. Industry expert judges then evaluate the presentations ahead of the awards ceremony on May 2 at the F.M. Kirby Center for Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

“Being a finalist in the TecBRIDGE business plan competition has provided me a plethora of experiential learning,” said Short. “I had a great opportunity to develop a financial model for our start-up company, present to a great group of judges, and showcase Evimero to the world, which TecBRIDGE provided to us the opportunity to do.”

Short serves as the chief financial officer of Evimero. In his role, he creates financial projections, cash flow statements, and profit and loss statements, manages budgeting, and oversees many day-to-day operations alongside Somori.

“Preparing to compete in the TecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition is a rigorous process, but Tobi and Jack embraced the challenge,” said O’Pake Institute Executive Director of Student and Client Services, Michelle Conway, MBA. “They diligently developed a comprehensive business plan, pitch deck, financial projections, and competitive analysis. They also attended help sessions with tecBRIDGE’s professional service provider network and invested countless hours perfecting Evimero’s wireframe—all while balancing full-time studies and part-time jobs. Tobi and Jack truly embody the entrepreneurial spirit and the commitment of having ‘skin in the game.’”  

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General election latest: Sunak denies he's planning to flee to US - as outgoing Tory MP backs Reform to take her seat

Rishi Sunak has defended his national service idea after Sir Keir Starmer dismissed the proposal as a "teenage Dad's Army". Meanwhile, an outgoing Tory MP has been suspended for backing Reform to take her seat.

Tuesday 28 May 2024 00:03, UK

• General Election 2024

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General election called for 4 July

• Outgoing Tory MP suspended after backing Reform
• PM defends national service plan | Denies he's plotting US move
• 'Teenage Dad's Army': Starmer dismisses Sunak's policy idea
• Labour leader tells Beth Rigby voters can 'look at my record'
• Live reporting by Faith Ridler  and (earlier)  Ben Bloch

Expert analysis

• Beth Rigby: Starmer's message is potent - but he has to seal the deal
• Tamara Cohen: Farage's incendiary claims a question for Reform
• Adam Boulton: Why PM's big bet on security likely won't pay off

Election essentials

• Trackers: Who's leading polls? | Is PM keeping promises?
• Campaign Heritage: Memorable moments from elections gone by
• Subscribe to Sky's politics podcasts: Electoral Dysfunction | Politics At Jack And Sam's
• Read more: What happens next? | Which MPs are standing down? | Key seats to watch | How to register to vote | What counts as voter ID? | Check if your constituency's changing | Sky's coverage plans

Thanks for joining us for the start of the first full week of this election campaign - there's plenty more to come before polls open on 4 July!

We'll be back at 6am but, until then, here are the latest headlines:

Join us on Tuesday for all the latest.

More than 120 business leaders have written an open letter giving their backing to Labour in the general election.

Senior figures, including chef Tom Kerridge and former CEOs of Heathrow, JP Morgan and Aston Martin, said the party had "shown it has changed and wants to work with business to achieve the UK's full economic potential".

They said the public should now "give it the chance to change the country and lead Britain into the future".

Both Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves have long been making efforts to win over the business community since taking over the party from Jeremy Corbyn.

An open letter printed in the Times and signed by figures including the founders of Wikileaks Jimmy Wales and Koru Kids - the latter of which was once invested in by the prime minister's wife - shows signs of success in the endeavour.

In the letter, the business people said it was "time for a change" as "for too long now, our economy has been beset by instability, stagnation, and a lack of long-term focus".

You can read more here:

By Jennifer Scott , political reporter

The Conservatives have promised to cut taxes for pensioners by creating a new "age-related" tax-free allowance - dubbed "triple lock plus".

Currently, people can receive £12,570 a year of their pensions before they start paying income tax on them - the same figure as the personal allowance for those who work.

But if the party wins the next election, a pensioner's allowance would rise in line with either average earnings, inflation or by 2.5% - whichever is higher - from next April, echoing the rules on annual state pension increases.

Rishi Sunak said the move "demonstrates we are on the side of pensioners", and would bring people "peace of mind and security in retirement".

But Labour's shadow paymaster general, Jonathan Ashworth, called it "another desperate move from a chaotic Tory party torching any remaining facade of its claims to economic credibility".

He added: "Why would anyone believe the Tories and Rishi Sunak on tax after they left the country with the highest tax burden in 70 years?"

You can read more from Sky News here:

Earlier (see 8.25pm post), we brought you news that another Labour MP - John Cryer - had confirmed he will step aside at the general election.

Paying tribute to the outgoing MP, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: "The constituents of Leyton and Wanstead, and indeed the whole Parliamentary Labour Party, will sorely miss John Cryer.

"Thank you for your friendship, support and years of service to the Labour and Trade Union Movement."

Until voters go to the polls on 4 July, the Politics Hub will be looking back at some memorable moments from previous general election campaigns.

How would you react if someone threw an egg in your face?

In the case of John Prescott, the answer was to punch them.

The former deputy prime minister threw a fist at the voter who targeted him ahead of a campaign rally in Wales.

The incident came on the day Labour launched its 2001 election manifesto, and went down in such infamy it has its own Wikipedia page.

Mr Prescott, then Tony Blair’s deputy, insisted the hefty jab was an act of self-defence - but him choosing violence divided the party leadership, with Gordon Brown more sympathetic than the prime minister was.

What are the rules on voter ID?  How does tactical voting work? In what different ways can you cast your ballot?

The countdown to the election is on - and already the amount of information can seem overwhelming. 

We cut through the noise to bring you what you need to know, from registering to vote, to election day and what happens next.

Read on here...

By Rob Powell , political correspondent

The Conservatives have admitted mistakenly sending out an email which reportedly accused MPs and ministers of failing to "get behind" the party's election campaign.

Staff at Tory headquarters accused some MPs of focusing too much on ministerial business and said some were refusing to knock on doors or were away on holiday, The Times reported.

The document was accidentally emailed to MPs by a senior figure in the campaign, the newspaper said.

Responding, a Conservative Party spokesperson said: "The email was sent in error and immediately recalled. Those who received it have been contacted with an apology".

You can read more from Sky News below:

Why are so many Tory MPs going? Is it because they read the opinion polls and believe their party's time is up and they don't fancy the hard slog and often unrewarding grind of opposition?

There's a famous quote attributed to James Callaghan, during the 1979 general election campaign, shortly before Labour was swept from power by Margaret Thatcher.

"You know there are times, perhaps once every 30 years, when there is a sea-change in politics," avuncular "Sunny Jim" observed shrewdly to his close aide Bernard Donoughue. 

Read more: 

With the general election campaign officially under way, what better time to keep a close eye on the latest polling?

The Sky News live poll tracker - collated and updated by our Data and Forensics team - aggregates various surveys to indicate how voters feel about the different political parties.

See the latest update below - and you can read more about the methodology behind the tracker  here .

Today has already brought news of four Labour MPs announcing they won't be standing for election on 4 July.

John Spellar, MP for Smethwick and Oldbury; Barbara Keeley of Worsley and Eccles South; Kevin Brennan, from Cardiff West; and Ealing Southall MP Virendra Sharma are all to stand down.

Now, John Cryer, the member for Leyton and Wanstead, has decided to join them.

You can read his statement in full below...

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Microsoft Build 2024

Official microsoft blog, book of news, khan academy, windows omb, full keynote: satya nadella at microsoft build 2024.

Microsoft Build keynote highlights

Keynote Sizzle: Satya Nadella at Microsoft Build 2024

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GitHub Demo: Neha Batra at Microsoft Build 2024

Copilot | Satya Nadella at Microsoft Build 2024

Copilot Studio: Satya Nadella at Microsoft Build 2024

Closing Video: Satya Nadella at Microsoft Build 2024

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Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella on stage May 21 at Microsoft Build 2024 in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Rajesh Jha, executive vice president, Experiences + Devices, Microsoft, on stage May 21 at Microsoft Build 2024 in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Jeff Teper, president, Collaborative Apps & Platform, Microsoft, on stage May 21 at Microsoft Build 2024 in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Pavan Davuluri, corporate vice president, Windows + Devices, Microsoft, on stage May 21 at Microsoft Build 2024 in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Kevin Scott, chief technology officer and EVP of AI, Microsoft, on stage with Sal Khan, founder and CEO, Khan Academy, May 21 at Microsoft Build 2024 in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Kevin Scott, chief technology officer and EVP of AI, Microsoft, on stage May 21 at Microsoft Build 2024 in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Scott Guthrie, executive vice president, Cloud+AI, Microsoft, on stage May 22 at Microsoft Build 2024 in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Charles Lamanna, corporate vice president, Business Applications & Platforms, Microsoft, on stage May 22 at Microsoft Build 2024 in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Seth Juarez, program manager, Microsoft, on stage May 22 at Microsoft Build 2024 in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Eric Boyd, corporate vice president, Engineering, on stage May 22 at Microsoft Build 2024 in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Sarah Bird, CPO, Responsible AI, on stage May 22 at Microsoft Build 2024 in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Arun Ulagaratchagan, corporate vice president, Azure Data, Microsoft, on stage May 22 at Microsoft Build 2024 in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Microsoft’s Julia Liuson, president, DevDiv, and John Lambert, corporate vice president, distinguished engineer, Microsoft Security Research, on stage May 22 at Microsoft Build 2024 in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

New Microsoft Fabric workload structure

The new Copilot Studio homepage

Docker Extension for GitHub Copilot

First set of GitHub Copilot Extensions

A peek at the experience of building copilots with agent capabilities using copilot studio.

The startup FROM YOUR EYES has won the 2024 Imagine Cup, taking home the grand prize of $100,000 and a mentorship session with Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella

Students compare notes while learning about abstract chemistry using everyday items, a lesson suggested by Khanmigo for Teachers. (Photo by Scott Eklund for Microsoft )

In less than a minute, teachers can access creative lesson plans from Khanmigo for Teachers that save time and delight students. (Photo by Scott Eklund for Microsoft)

Students use marshmallows and water bottles to understand a chemistry concept, a suggestion from khanmigo for teachers. (photo by scott eklund for microsoft ).

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Introducing Copilot+ PCs

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Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella on stage May 20, 2024, at an event in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Yusuf Mehdi, executive vice president, Consumer chief marketing officer, Microsoft, on stage May 20, 2024, at an event in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Carolina Hernandez, principal product manager, Windows AI Experiences, Microsoft, on stage May 20, 2024, at an event in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Carolina Hernandez, principal product manager, Windows AI Experiences, Microsoft, on stage May 20, 2024, at an event in Redmond, Washington.(Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)g)

Pavan Davuluri, corporate vice president, Windows + Devices, Microsoft, on stage May 20, 2024, at an event in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Brett Ostrum, Head of Surface, Microsoft, presents the new Copilot+ PCs on stage May 20, 2024, at an event in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Brett Ostrum, Head of Surface, Microsoft, on stage May 20, 2024, at an event in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Adrienne Brewbaker, director, Microsoft Surface, on stage May 20, 2024, at an event in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Oyin Shenbanjo, senior product manager, Surface, Microsoft, on stage May 20, 2024, at an event in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Erica Arnold, Senior Product Manager, Surface, Microsoft, on stage May 20, 2024, at an event in Redmond, Washington. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

Erica Arnold, Senior Product Manager, Surface, Microsoft, on stage May 20, 2024, at an event in Redmond. (Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft)

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• News Release
• Business | Finance
• Sustainability
• Japanese Version

Kao Announces Human Capital Strategy Linked to Its Management Strategy in Realization of Its Vision of Protecting Future Lives

Maximizing the Power and Potential of Employees with Decisive Investment in Human Capital

In the recently published Kao Integrated Report 2024, Kao Corporation announced its human capital strategy for realizing its Mid-term Plan 2027 (K27). To realize the vision of “protecting future lives” set forth in K27, Kao is engaging in Global Sharp Top *1 human capital/organizational management, which is based on decisive investment in human capital and withdrawal from matrix management in organizations. Through this, Kao intends to achieve further company development by transforming its Yoki-Monozukuri and building Global Sharp Top businesses.

• * 1 Contribute as the global No.1 with leading-edge brands and solutions that address the critical needs of customers
• Kao Integrated Report 2024
• Management Strategy and Mid-term Plan 2027 (K27)

Human Capital Strategy Linked to Kao’s Management Strategy

Value creation cycle for enhancing corporate value

Kao’s greatest asset is its employees, and continuing to maximize their vitality is a key issue in its human capital strategy. Through its human capital and organizations with global perspectives, high-level expertise, and the power to drive transformation, Kao will evolve its Yoki-Monozukuri and build robust businesses through investment. The impacts from this investment will then be reinvested in human capital with the aim of driving further company development. Kao’s Guidelines for Human Capital Development contain the three policies of “from equality to equity,” “from the relative to the absolute” and “from the uniform and formal to the diverse and having initiative.” Under these guidelines, Kao is promoting Global Sharp Top human capital/organizational management, which expands decisive investment in highly motivated employees and enables prompt decision-making and implementation. After implementing “Create equitable opportunities for all employees,” in order to “Sharpen the skills and unlock the potential of highly motivated employees,” Kao optimally assigns employees based on their career plans and the company’s plans. The company also expands opportunities for reskilling and skills improvement, including education on digital transformation (DX), making efforts to “Withdraw from matrix management in organizations” by reinforcing a scrum-type approach, in which employees capable of prompt decision-making are brought together for key tasks. Key employees will be identified at the preliminary stages of their careers to undergo systematic and proactive training and assignment. At the same time, Kao will strive to “Create an environment that focuses on challenges and results,” by providing greater transparency in performance evaluations and rewarding employees who tackle difficult challenges and produce results. As stated by Hideki Mamiya, Senior Executive Officer and Senior Vice President, Human Capital Strategy, “Kao has always recognized the strengths of employees as its greatest asset and has worked to maximize their vitality. Now, to achieve K27 and evolve our Yoki-Monozukuri , there is a need for our human capital/organization to become Global Sharp Top . We have begun swiftly implementing decisive human capital measures and activities around the pillar of transitioning ‘from equality to equity.’”

Revitalizing Employees and Organizations Through Dialogue

Human capital strategy toward achieving K27

The basis for all activities is ongoing dialogue from all directions. Kao is further implementing initiatives and approaches to expand this dialogue as diverse work styles tailored to roles become more prevalent. Kao conducts regular employee engagement surveys, including with group companies in Asia, Americas and EMEA, to verify the state of employees and organizations while verifying the effectiveness of the respective measures at the time. Based on these activities, Kao strives to implement efficient measures to further expand its pool of highly motivated employees. As an indicator for this, Kao has set the FY2027 target of a total score of 75 (out of a perfect score of 100) in the employee engagement survey (FY2023 score was 63 *2 ).

• * 2 In 2023, 27,460 Kao employees responded to the survey

Create equitable opportunities for all employees: well-being, DE&I and OKR

To maximize the power and potential of employees, Kao is working together with health insurance associations to conduct Health and Productivity Management *3 that promotes well-being. At the same time, the company is promoting the empowerment of all employees, including those who identify as female, members of the LGBTQ+ community, have disabilities, are from different cultures, and/or are raising children or providing care to family members.

• * 3 Health and Productivity Management is a registered trademark of Non-Profit Organization Kenkokeiei.
• News Releases from March 2024 Kao Selected as a Health & Productivity Stock Selection Brand for the Ninth Time

Introduced in 2021, Objectives and Key Results (OKR) is an initiative in which employees set challenging goals and work toward them from the three focus areas of business contributions, ESG and “One Team & My Dream.” Currently, 72% of global employees and 90% of employees in Japan have set goals and activities based on OKR. All employees are able to view each other’s OKRs in the system. Employees engage in dialogue and collaboration transcending countries, regions and positions, which drives innovation and increases business velocity. Kao also provides opportunities for employees to learn about psychological safety and unconscious bias to help build an organizational culture with a dialogue focus.

Create an environment that focuses on challenges and results: More transparency in evaluation

Kao is expanding 360-degree feedback, which has been introduced in some organizations, to all Kao Group companies in Japan from FY2024 to support the growth of the management team and improve the transparency of organizational management. This tool provides feedback from various directions, not just senior positions, thereby enabling management-level employees to objectively assess their own capabilities and the degree of leadership they demonstrate. This leads to capacity building and enhances the transparency and reliability of performance evaluations for managers.

Sharpen the skills and unlock the potential of highly motivated employees: Kao Techno School, DX Adventure Program and the Kao Group Internal Job Posting system

Kao Techno School, which trains employees to be the next Genba leaders in Supply Chain Management Division, is a program that enhances employees’ management capabilities both in terms of demonstrating excellent character and insight (spirit) and having a wide range of subject-matter expertise and competencies (skills). Young employees globally are selected to participate in this program, with 1,047 having completed the program so far. Eighty percent of employees in leader roles at worksites that handle high-pressure gasses, where safety management is a critical need, have completed this program. In the last three years, 45% of participants were selected from group companies in Asia, Americas and EMEA, making this a global learning program. Graduates who have developed new knowledge, skills and the spirit of challenge have become standout employees who are contributing to revitalizing their workplaces.

In addition to proactive efforts to foster “citizen developers *4 ,” Kao introduced the DX Adventure Program in November 2023 to promote the enhancement of digital skills among all employees. Kao is bolstering its activities to discover and foster “DX employees” and accelerate the creation of new value and business process transformation in all Kao companies and divisions. Kao is bringing visibility to employees’ skills by adopting Open Badges (digital certificates) to boost employee motivation. This program has started in Japan and will expand worldwide from 2024.

• * 4 Activities with a Genba -oriented perspective to promote operational improvements by regular employees without IT expertise through the use of low-code or no-code tools

The Kao Group Internal Job Posting system was launched in January 2024 as a means of providing highly motivated employees with opportunities to shape their careers themselves. Based on their interests and motivation to take on challenges, employees can apply for open positions that are directly linked to the management strategy.

Withdrawal from matrix management in organizations: Business Steering Board

Kao is evolving its matrix-type organizational management that leverages the freedom of business and functional divisions and promoting “scrum-type management,” which aims to achieve targets for priority tasks at maximum speed. In 2023, Kao launched the Business Steering Board in its key businesses, which include the Fabric Care, Sanitary and Hair Care categories, comprising key employees from each business and function. The Business Steering Board holds spirited discussions on priority issues based on group-wide strategy and quickly makes decisions, leading to accelerated velocity of initiatives targeting business expansion. The brand melt , which was launched in April 2024, is a new hair care brand created by the Business Steering Board.

• News Releases from February 2024 Kao Launches Business Transformation to Build Hair Care Business into a Growth Driver: [1st Launch] New Brand melt

The Kao Group has been promoting the Kao Group Mid-term Plan, with its vision of “protecting future lives” and “sustainability as the only path,” since 2021. It contains 19 key leadership actions and the human capital strategy relates to many of them, such as respecting human rights, inclusive and diverse workplaces, employee well-being and safety and human capital development. The Kao Group will continue to integrate its ESG strategy into its management practices, develop its business, provide better products and services for consumers and society, and work toward its purpose, “to realize a Kirei world in which all life lives in harmony.”

About the Kirei Lifestyle Plan

Over the past 130 years, Kao has worked to improve people’s lives and help them realize more sustainable lifestyles—a Kirei Lifestyle. The Japanese word ‘kirei’ describes something that is clean, well-ordered and beautiful, all at the same time. The Kao Group established its ESG strategy, the Kirei Lifestyle Plan in April 2019, which is designed to deliver the vision of a gentler and more sustainable way of living. By 2030, Kao aims to empower at least 1 billion people, to enjoy more beautiful lives and have 100% of its products leave a full lifecycle environmental footprint that science says our natural world can safely absorb. Please visit the Kao sustainability website for more information.

Kao creates high-value-added products and services that provide care and enrichment for the life of all people and the planet. Through its portfolio of over 20 leading brands such as Attack , Bioré , Goldwell , Jergens , John Frieda , Kanebo , Laurier , Merries, and Molton Brown , Kao is part of the everyday lives of people in Asia, Oceania, North America, and Europe. Combined with its chemical business, which contributes to a wide range of industries, Kao generates about 1,530 billion yen in annual sales. Kao employs about 34,300 people worldwide and has 137 years of history in innovation. Please visit the Kao Group website for updated information.

Media inquiries should be directed to:

Public Relations Kao Corporation

• [email protected]

Related Information

Kao Releases the Kao Integrated Report 2024

Kao Releases Progress Reports on its ESG Strategy—the Kirei Lifestyle Plan

Kao launches new ESG Strategy “Kirei Lifestyle Plan” to support consumer lifestyle changes

Kao’s New Challenges for the Future: Accelerating Purposeful Business Commitment with ESG

Kao sustainability website

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