Our progress so far…
Thank you to everyone who supported us. We have raised an amazing £88,686.38 from 210 investors!100% funded
What it’s all about
We need your help to maintain our historic hall so all your favourite events and activities can continue for years to come! Our wonderful Grade II listed building needs considerable investment for urgent roof repairs and energy efficiency adaptations – by choosing to become a shareholder in our collective future, you’re supporting Stretford to thrive for generations.
Learn more about our plans
Activities for the whole community...
Art classes
Celebrations
Yoga, fitness & wellbeing
Gardening
Where will my money go?
Every penny invested helps secure the future of our building. In order to preserve the hall for years to come, we’ve identified the need to undertake critical upgrades and repairs, including urgent roofing, drainage and structural improvements.
This includes complete re-roofing for areas with tenanted spaces – such as artist studios and co-working spaces – accompanied by future-proofing measures for gutters and drainage to withstand higher intensity rainfall. We’ll also be upgrading insulation to improve the overall energy efficiency of the building, along with a transition to low-energy LED lighting throughout the building.
Share offer targets
With the majority of funding for this project secured thanks to the Community Ownership Fund, we’re aiming to raise £90,000 from the local community. This in turn will secure an extra £30,000 from the Community Shares Booster programme, enabling us to meet our optimum share offer target of £120,000.
So much happens under our roof...
Children's theatre & activities
Food banks & Citizens Advice
Cookery classes
Singing sessions
Frequently asked questions
Community shares are a form of social investment. They offer communities a chance to own shares in a local organisation.
Community shares are withdrawable shares that cannot be sold, traded or transferred between members, unlike shares in a typical company. Members can be paid interest on their shares, and also withdraw their shareholding, along with any interest they receive. This is subject to the approval of the board. All members are entitled to one vote regardless of how many shares they hold.
By investing in this community share offer you are becoming or continuing to be a member of Friends of Stretford Public Hall with an equal say in how we are run.
Furthermore investors get:
- 2% interest on share capital.
- A vote at our AGM on important matters for the society.
- The chance to stand for and be elected to the board.
- The opportunity to get their money back.
Community shares are “withdrawable” shares that cannot be sold, traded or transferred between members, unlike shares in a typical company. All members are entitled to one vote – regardless of how many shares they hold.
The minimum individual investment amount is £100 and the maximum amount is £25,000. The maximum limit takes into account any existing share capital held by the member.
Your community shares are withdrawable subject to restrictions. We expect to be able to allow withdrawals at a rate of about 5% per annum from 2024 onwards. This will equate to approximately £20,000 available for withdrawal each year – of which the Community Shares Booster will have a pro-rata claim of approximately £6,000.
The board reserves the right to suspend withdrawals at any time if they believe it is in the organisation’s best interests to do so. This is to prevent the organisation allowing too many withdrawals and facing cash flow problems that may put it at risk.
Once we have concluded this share offer, we will explore the viability of moving to an ‘open offer’ whereby applicants can invest on an ongoing basis. This will support our ability to allow withdrawals from 2024 onwards.
All investors’ share accounts will be credited with interest at a rate of 2% per year unless they wish to forgo interest payments, which can be confirmed on the application form. This will not normally be paid out on an annual basis but credited to your account and added to the balance that you can withdraw at an appropriate time.
If you are an existing investor, your interest payment will apply to your entire shareholding. If you have already confirmed you wish to forgo interest payments then we will apply this to your new investment, unless you indicate otherwise on your application form as part of this offer.
It is possible to purchase shares as gifts via the website. You will be required to provide the age and contact details of the gift recipient on the online application form. If the gift recipient is over 16 years of age, Friends of Stretford Public Hall will contact your gift recipient once the share offer has completed to confirm that they are eligible and agree to become a member, before the shares are issued.
If the share offer does not meet its minimum investment target, or the gift recipient is not eligible nor willing to become a member, then the purchaser will be refunded.
If the gift recipient is below 16 years of age, then the purchaser will be required to nominate the gift recipient as their beneficiary. On the day the gift recipient becomes eligible for membership, Friends of Stretford Public Hall will contact both the purchaser and the recipient for consent that the shares can be withdrawn by the purchaser and reinvested by the gift recipient. From this point, the shares will be in the name of the gift recipient.
Timeline
- November 2023 – Community Share Offer opens
- February 2024 – Community Share Offer closes
- Mid to late 2024 – Essential building work & critical repairs
- 2025 to 2030 – Reactivation of basement & new entrance