Regulars raise enough money to buy the Bell pub in Bath
Regulars at a popular Bath pub are now in a position to buy the business after a mammoth fundraising campaign has brought in £720,000.
Last month a campaign was launched to raise £500,000 towards the cost of buying The Bell Inn, in Walcot Street.
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Music organiser Steve Henwood, city MP Don Foster and general manager Patrick Cave
But The Bell Inn Community Buyout has beaten that target and there were cheers last night as the final total was revealed.
The money raised through a community share issue plus a bank loan will now allow them to make a formal bid to buy the pub, which is famed for its live music, real ale and unique atmosphere.
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The team has been offering shares of between £500 and £20,000 to members of the community who want to get involved.
The campaign was launched after its owner of 23 years Ian Wood decided to put the pub on the market, and punters were worried it might be taken over by a national chain.
General manager at The Bell Patrick Cave said everyone involved had been blown away by the support from the people of Bath and those living further afield.
He said: “It’s gone so well.
“We have raised more than we needed. It’s been absolutely crazy.
“We are absolutely delighted by it all.
“We will be able to borrow significantly less from the bank, which is a good thing because it draws down the risk of the whole enterprise.
“We will also have enough money to do some maintenance on the building and possibly replace the toilets.”
Mr Cave said The Bell Inn Community Buyout would now make an official bid for the pub, which was put up for sale last autumn for £925,000.
He said the legal process of buying the pub was likely to take some weeks but they hoped to hold a celebration in April to mark the transfer of ownership to the Bath community.
He added: “We have huge respect and a huge thank you to all you who have bought shares because it is you that made this happen.
“We have just been overwhelmed by this kind of response.”
Earlier this month the fundraising appeal received a huge boost with a number of famous faces throwing their support behind the campaign.
These have included Robert Plant, Michael Eavis, Peter Gabriel, Will Gregory, from Goldfrapp, Portishead, The Stranglers, Baka Beyond, The Wurzels, Midge Ure, Clare Teal, Eddie Martin, The Vaccines, Radio Banska, Gabrielle Aplin and The Darkness, who have either bought shares or sent messages of support.
For more information about the fundraising appeal, as well as details about the next stages of the process to buy the pub, go to www.bellcommunity.org.uk.
7 Comments
by bath1946
Sunday, March 24 2013, 9:45AM
“And many thanks to Sue Pryor for organising so successfully the financial side of the buyout.”
by Skelator
Thursday, March 21 2013, 2:01PM
“Well done to all those for saving the Bell, perhaps we will see in the future some of the RnB bands that used to play at the Kinger, i'm sure the Bell will flourish where the Kings Arms has failed.
There's some quality music out there Bath, trouble is its been playing out of the city because of the lack of a decent venue.
Best of luck for the future .”
by Skelator
Thursday, March 21 2013, 1:57PM
“Well done one and all, what would be nice in the future is for the Bell to put on some of the good RnB acts that are still around Bath, they will succeed where the Kings Arms has failed.”
by BV_BV
Thursday, March 21 2013, 12:45PM
“I cannot imagine there would be many businesses in Bath (pubs or otherwise) which could attract this amount of interest and support. Well done to all those supporters. I shall certainly be buying my 330 pints to get my free budget pint to celebrate.”
by DaveF_Walcot
Thursday, March 21 2013, 12:00PM
“This is fantastic news. £720,000 (& counting!). I'm still a bit punch-drunk by that figure, (& maybe from the quaffed ale - both the Penny Black & Butcombe tasting great). Well done to all behind the scenes who put in so much hard work.
A special thanks to Ian Wood for being patient & allow the community buy-out to get this far. He could, quite understandably, have accepted any of the offers that were on the table months ago. I believe he's accepting a position on the board for the next year. His experience will help The Bell stay on the right course.
That figure means less borrowing, less interest giving a higher profit margin for re-investment (& dividends!).
If possible it would be good to have another share offer ASAP to ride the crest of the wave. With such a large sum collected, those who were a bit unsure previously might be convinced to take the plunge & invest.”
by Elmleydrinker
Thursday, March 21 2013, 11:34AM
“Some genuinely good news from the beating heart of Bath.”
by sky_pie
Thursday, March 21 2013, 10:43AM
“What a fantastic achievement- congratulations are in order to the team that put such a successful plan together and promoted it so tirelessly. I have no doubt that the Bell team can only make a huge business success out of this, whilst keeping faith with Bath's creative and alternative community who put their money where their mouth is and invested both small and large sums of their own cash. This is a victory for the real heart of Bath, away from the elitist, tourist money chasing initiatives that our council tax is usually spent on.”