The Society – the people who own The George
The George Community Pub (Wickham Market) Ltd, ‘the Society’, is a Community Benefit Society which was established in December 2016 to form a company to buy and own the George Pub in Wickham Market and then bring it back into use.
The Society is registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 and its Financial Conduct Authority registration number is 7462 the registration details of which can be found at FCA Registration
The purpose of a Community Benefit Society is to serve the broader interests of the community. The 2014 Act requires a Community Benefit Society to “carry on a business, industry or trade” that is “being, or intended to be, conducted for the benefit of the community”. Bringing the George back into use serves those interests.
The Society is bound by a set of Rules which governs how the Society operates, how it is financed, and how its Membership can control the business of the Society by making decisions on the basis on one-member-one-vote.
The Society can raise finance through the sale of shares usually known as community shares. However, unlike other shareholding bodies, any profit can only be used for the community’s benefit and cannot be distributed amongst Society Members. The Society is permitted, however, to pay interest to its Members on the sums invested. The Society does not have charitable status.
More information about Community Benefit Societies can found at https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/registered-societies-introduction and at https://communityshares.org.uk/about-cooperative-and-community-benefit-societies
The Management Committee
The Society’s Members elect a Management Committee whose responsibility it is to run the Society’s affairs as described and defined in the Rules of the Society.
A brief resumé of each of the Committee Members can be found on the “Meet the Team” page.