Community Ownership Model

Community pubs are owned and run democratically by members of their community. Community pubs have an open and voluntary membership, giving members part ownership of the community business. Community pubs actively encourage individuals from their community to become members by purchasing membership shares, the cost of which are set at an accessible level that the majority of the community will be able to afford. Community pubs are set up on a ‘one member one vote’ basis rather than ‘one share one vote’. This means that all members have an equal say in how they want their local pub to be run, regardless of the number of shares they purchase. Community pubs are being established in both rural and urban communities, and the motivation for doing so will be much the same. For some, the main motivation will be to safeguard the only remaining pub left in a local community, or to save a valued asset from redevelopment. For others, it will be to establish a high quality service that meets local needs. The major benefit in all cases will be the creation of a community hub in which all members of a community can come together, interact and socialise. Like any business, a community pub aims to be profitable. However, the primary trading purpose of a community pub is to provide benefits for its local community. Many community pubs, for example, host a wide range of additional services that benefit the community which may include; 

- Grocery shop
- Post Office services
- Allotments and growing spaces
- Library and book exchanges
- Child care facilities
- IT provision
- Formal meeting rooms
- Social club
- Cafes and other informal social space.

There are a number of management options for community pubs. In the majority of cases, the community will purchase the freehold of the pub in order to retain community control of the asset. Once owned, the community have the option of leasing the operations of the pub business to a tenant or running it themselves with either paid staff or volunteers. A lesser number of communities for whom purchasing the freehold is not an option, will purchase the leasehold of the pub, to at least ensure the pub is run for community benefit in the short term, and possibly with a view to purchasing the property in the future. There are a range of legal structures appropriate for community pubs, but the majority are registered as either Co‑operative or Community Benefit Societies, which can reinvest profits in the business, donate their surplus back to the community, or distribute interest to their members.