TOPIC:

Hi, I have just become a member, but not invested yet. I have two questions for those who may know the answer:

1. What happens if the share offer is over subscribed and you raise, say £1.5M? This will clearly be good for the Bell and put the business in a healthy position, but will limit/reduce the return to shareholders as income/interest. When the target of ~£950K is reached will the offer be closed to new investors?
2. The documentation indicates that the limit of shareholder liability will be no greater that the value of our holding. This is fine, but what happens if the Bell Co-op is sued for some rare incident or event, will shareholders be liable or will we have assurance that suitable thrid party insurance is held etc.? I don't intend being a scaremonger but wish to be clear as to the limit of my liability before investing.

Hi FlipFlap (nice name!)

This share issue will be limited to one million pounds upper ceiling, which would cover costs of purchase, professional fees and external refurbishment. The share offer is being run on a first-come, first-served basis and any applications received after the ceiling is reached will be returned to applicants.

As for liability, that will be strictly limited to share value in all circumstances, and all necessary insurance will be held.

Hope that answers for you.

Many thanks
Patrick

Dear Patrick,
Many thanks. Answers very helpful. As limit of £1M, it would be good to see a barometer of investments to date as suggested by another person. That would encourage the tardy to send in their cheques etc.

Dear FlipFlap

So, after our first spurt of serious energetic fundraising, we are well into six figures and approximately a quarter of the way there. This is great news to have these substantial funds accumulating! However, time marches on and we need to keep the profile right up there and the issue in people's minds. Losing The Bell is not an option. This is the time for all those who talked of supporting the project to take ten minutes to fill in their form and sign their cheque. And for others, have a look at the literature, come and talk to us about it, and look at all the benefits you can gain from being a Bell shareholder!

30% income tax relief, subject to HMRC conditions
Capital Gains Tax deferred
Healthy rates of interest earned
The Bell saved for the community

What a perfect list of outcomes!

We will get a thermometer of funds up and running when I can find the right graphic

Patrick

It's good to see a healthy amount of mercury in the thermometer over on the right. With about 18 days to go as of this saturday, we will be rushing down to The Bell (no change there, then) but with a filled-out application form and a cheque.

I feel a general lift in spirits (no pun intended) and a boost in confidence - as you say, losing The Bell is not an option. I already know of one investor who I sent a prospectus to, who is a virtual stranger to The Bell and lives about 90 miles away, but happened to be in the pub the night of the announcement of the intention to sell. I think there will be more like him - the social benefits of keeping The Bell going in it's current format would be reason enough to invest, but the potential financial benefits are attractive enough to anyone who might only visit it once a year.