community shares
TRANSCRIPT
What are community shares?
Unique to co-operative
and community
benefit societies
Non-transferable,
nominal
One Member One Vote
Exempt from regulation under the
FSMA 2000
Interest payment
only sufficient to
attract investment
“The sale of shares in enterprises serving a community purpose, with the aim of raising at least £10,000 in capital from no fewer than 20 members”
Powered by withdrawable share capital
Community shares registrations
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012to Aug
Community shares 2009-present
248 new societies registered
80 share offers completed
£15.2m raised from over 15,000
members
Average raised £195,000
(median £80,000)
Average membership 192
(median 150)
Average investment per member £1,029
Renewable energy
Community shops and
pubs
Local food and farming
Sports and heritage
Community share offers: Four pillars
Necessary but not sufficient Overlapping and pervasive
Business model
Growth stage
Income generation
Capital requirement
Community engagement
Scale and scope
Attracting support
Building membership
Governance
Legal form
Expertise
Conduct
Offer document
Purpose
Demand
Timeframe
Community shares and community finance
Leverage: equity and debt provision
Confidence: due diligence and underwriting
Inclusivity: instalments, thresholds
Proof of concept: early-stage finance
Case Study: FC United
Introducing the Community Shares Unit
Vision: to grow the market for community shares
A resource for:
Communities looking to develop share offers
Investors exploring the community shares market
Intermediaries, practitioners and business-support
community
Partnership between Co-operatives UK and Locality (building on an action learning research programme)
DCLG-funded programme for three years
How can the CSU help you?
Brainstorm and feedback from three groups:
Practitioners currently involved in a
community shares initiative
Practitioners deciding whether community shares is relevant to their
activities
People with more general interest,
maybe as potential members,
investors or volunteers
More information
www.communityshares.org.uk
www.uk.coop
locality.org.uk