The Bamford Community Society Limited (BCS) is a community co-operative which owns the freehold of the Anglers Rest pub and the adjacent car parks. The Society was formed in 2012 when the pub faced closure after years of neglect and poor management whilst owned by a string of large Pub Companies with little interest in the business. It was to be sold for property development. The Society registered the property as an Asset of Community Value. Our members raised £264,250 through membership shares to purchase the freehold outright in 2013. The purchase was also supported by a commercial loan.
The BCS has a total of 343 members, mostly from Bamford and the surrounding area. All members are shareholders in the co-operative. As a co-operative society for community benefit, our constitutional and legal duty is to serve our community rather than generate profit for our members / shareholders. Most shareholders hold between 250 and 500 shares; members have equal voting rights regardless of the size of their shareholding.
We also have a small number of institutional investors, including Co-Operatives UK, and some local community groups.
Since 2013 the BCS has invested heavily in the building. We have developed the café area, refurbished the bar area and cellar as well as refurbishing some of the upstairs accommodation. Around £100,000 was invested in re-roofing the building. The boiler and heating system has been replaced. Solar panels have been fitted. The accommodation upstairs includes 2 units which can be used by staff or as rental units.
The pub has provided employment for dozens of local people, including providing valuable first steps into employment for dozens of young people from Bamford, and it also hosts numerous community groups.
The BCS ran the pub, café, post-office and accommodation businesses directly for over a decade since 2013, employing managers and other staff itself. The team stabilised the business, successfully navigated challenges such as COVID, and maintained payments against our commercial loan.
In 2025, the BCS with the support of its membership decided to lease the premises to an experienced local operator of hospitality businesses, Atlantik Inns. The rent is set at market rates and generates sufficient income for BCS to cover its costs (commercial loan repayments, insurance, accountancy) and build up reserves. Atlantik have refurbished the pub area and are keen to grow the business and the BCS are here to support them. The role of the BCS has therefore changed from the day-to-day management and running of the business to being a landlord, responsible for the building and its duties to members.
Though the role of the BCS has changed with the tenancy, there are still decisions and responsibilities that sit with the BCS Board of Directors, as representatives of the membership, in order that the Anglers Rest can remain open to the community for the long term and remain a valuable asset to both the BCS shareholders and wider community.
The Board of the BCS welcome interest from people who can offer their time, skills and expertise to help our village pub, cafe and post office be a success.
Share withdrawal policy
Version 3 approved on 25 August 25 2025
General policy statement The Bamford Community Society Limited is a registered society under the Co-operatives and Community Benefit Society Act 2014 and is owned by its members, the majority of whom are residents of the village of Bamford. The Society owns the Anglers Rest public house within Bamford village, in the Derbyshire Peak District and manages the tenancy of the pub for the benefit of residents of Bamford, the wider Hope Valley and visitors to the area. This policy forms part of the standards of good practice of the Society.
Background As set out in BCS Rules, your investment in your share account is withdrawable without penalty at the discretion of the Board under the Society’s rules. The Rules also (as set out in the extract in Appendix A) allow the Board to specify a maximum total withdrawal for each financial year or to suspend withdrawals. The policy on share withdrawal, as outlined within this document, provides clarity to members around how and when they can request share withdrawal.
The FCA sets out a number tests of whether a society is meeting its conditions for registration, which incudes that it should only allow the withdrawal of shares if:
• it has trading surpluses that match or exceed the value of shares involved; and
• the directors believe the society can afford to pay its debts, taking into account:
o all of its liabilities (including whether it will be able to pay its debts at the date of withdrawal and, for a year after that, any contingent or prospective liabilities) and
o the society’s situation at the date of the transaction
Under BCS rules, shares will never be worth more than £1 and you may under exceptional circumstances be offered less.
Converting shares to donations Some members may have bought shares but actually seen them as a donation. If so, why not formally surrender some of your shares back to the Society, which means that the shares are cancelled and the original investment becomes a donation. To retain membership of the Society, you would need to retain a minimum £1 share. If you are interested in doing this, please contact the Company Secretary on bcscompsec@gmail.com
Share Withdrawal Process In order to make the withdrawal process as fair and transparent as possible the following process has been agreed.
Members may request the withdrawal of their shares at any time by completing the form a copy of which can be obtained from the Society Secretary.
The form should be returned by email to bcscompsec@gmail.com or by post to Bamford Community Society, Bamford Village Institute, Bamford, Hope Valley, Derbyshire, S33 0DY
For any year that we make a profit, the intension is to allocate a proportion of profits for the repayment of share withdrawals, the amount to be determined by the Board, based on:
1. The financial return from the previous year
2. New share purchases
3. The FCA tests as incorporated into the BCS rules
4. The value of withdrawals requested up to the 31st August of the previous financial year (e.g. the amount set for repayments in 2025/6 will be based on the value of share withdrawal requests received by 31st August 2025).
The Board will also seek to facilitate repayment of shares from any new share investments.
Where the Society is able to allocate funds to share withdrawals (either from reserves or new share investments) but has insufficient to repay all, repayment will be in £250 “lots” strictly in the order in which formal requests were received ” i.e. the first requester will receive the first £250, the second the second £250 and so on.
On the death of a member, shares may be transferred to another party. However, if the wish is for those shares to be withdrawn, BCS will deal with any request due to death of a member in the same way as other requests.
Funds will be returned to investors on receipt of original share certificates.
Any share withdrawal requests received before 31st August, that cannot be met at from that year’s allocation will be transferred into the following year’s allocation and be considered as priorities.
If the value of withdrawals requested by the 31st August is lower than the allocation, share withdrawal requests received from the 1st September may be funded up to the limit of the allocated funds.
The amount of allocation for share withdrawals will be presented to members at the Annual Members' meeting. In the event of exceptional circumstances, the board can exercise its discretion over an individual request which should be notified to the Secretary in writing.
This Policy will be reviewed every three years.
Appendix A – extract from the Bamford Community Society Rules
8.4 Shares are not transferable except on death or bankruptcy, and are withdrawable at the sole discretion of the Management Committee in accordance with the Rules as
follows:
8.4.1 Shares may be withdrawn by Members who have held them for a minimum period of three years or such other period as the Management Committee decides;
8.4.2 Application for withdrawal shall be made on not less than three months’ notice, on a form approved by the Management Committee;
8.4.3 The Management Committee may specify a maximum total withdrawal for each financial year;
8.4.4 All withdrawals must be funded from trading profits, reserves or new share capital raised from Members, and are at the absolute discretion of the Management Committee having regards to the long term interests of the Society, the need to maintain prudent reserves, and the Society’s commitment to community benefit. If any withdrawal is to be funded from reserves, the Management Committee must be satisfied that:
8.4.4.1 as a result of such withdrawal there will be no ground upon which the Society could then be found to be unable to pay (or otherwise discharge) its debts; and
8.4.4.2 the Society will be able to pay (or otherwise discharge) its debts as they fall due during the year immediately following the withdrawal.
8.4.5 All withdrawals shall be paid in accordance with the Society’s policy on share withdrawal as agreed at the AGM. If no such policy exist , all withdrawals shall be paid in the order in which the notices were received, up to a maximum total withdrawal specified for the financial year, following which no further withdrawals may be made until the following year.
8.4.6 Except where a Member intends to terminate their membership, they shall not be permitted to withdraw shares leaving them with less than the minimum required by the Rules;
8.4.7 The Management Committee may waive the notice required for a withdrawal and may direct payment to be made without notice or on such shorter notice as it considers appropriate;
8.4.8 The Management Committee may suspend the right to withdraw either wholly or partially, and either indefinitely or for a fixed period. The suspension shall apply to all notices of withdrawal which have been received and remain unpaid at the time. Where the suspension is for a fixed period, it may be extended from time to time by the Management Committee;
8.4.9 During any period when the right of withdrawal has been suspended, the shares of a deceased Member may, if the Management Committee agrees, be withdrawn by their personal representatives on giving such notice as the Management Committee requires;
8.4.10 The Society may deduct such reasonable sum to cover administrative costs of withdrawal from the monies payable to a Member on the withdrawal of shares.
[End of Share withdrawal policy]
Copies of these forms for existing members are below:
BCS Share Withdrawal Application Form
BCS Shares Surrender Form
BCS Codicil Form
If you wish to contact the BCS, you may email the BCS Company Secretary at bcscompsec@gmail.com
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BAMFORD COMMUNITY SOCIETY LIMITED
Application to Withdraw Shares
In line with the Society’s Rules and share withdrawal policy, both of which are available from the BCS website, or on request from the Society Secretary, you should be aware of the following:
1. No shares can be withdrawn for three years from the date they were purchased.
2. Shares may only be withdrawn by members after giving a minimum of three months' notice.
3. Members withdrawing all their shares shall cease to be members of the Society.
4. Applications must be made on this form and will be entered on the Shares Withdrawal Register.
5. Withdrawals shall be paid in line with the Societies Rules and the share withdrawal policy agreed by members at a General Meeting from time to time.
6. For any year that a net profit is returned, the intention is (subject to the absolute discretion of the Board) to allocate a proportion of profits for the repayment of share withdrawals; the amount to be determined by the Board.
7. Withdrawals will be made as soon as possible after the year end (31st August) from the allocation for share withdrawals agreed for that year.
8. Share withdrawal requests that cannot be funded from within a current allocation will be carried forward to the following year(s), until the request can be met (in full or in part).
Full name
Address
Postcode
Telephone no.
Share Certificate number
Number of shares requested for withdrawal:
Method of payment
☐ Cheque, please provide details of payee
☐ BACS, please provide bank account details
Signature
Date
Please send the completed application form to:
Society Secretary, bcscompsec@gmail.com or
Bamford Community Society, Bamford Village Institute, Bamford, Hope Valley, Derbyshire, S33 0DY
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Bamford Community Society Limited
Shares Surrender Form
Many members invest in community organisations for non-financial reasons with a view to realising a social rather than a purely financial return on their investment.
Some members may regard their investment as a donation. In such circumstances Bamford Community Society provides an option to surrender some of the share value back to the Society, in which case those shares would be cancelled and their value becomes a donation.
To retain membership of the Society a minimum £1 share must be retained.
If you wish to surrender some of your shares, please complete this form and send with your share certificate to:
Society Secretary, bcscompsec@gmail.com or
Bamford Community Society, Bamford Village Institute, Bamford, Hope Valley, Derbyshire, S33 0DY
If you wish to withdraw shares, please complete the application to withdraw shares form.
Shareholder name(s)
Share certificate number
Number of shares held
Number of shares to be surrendered
Number of shares to be retained (minimum of 1 if you wish to remain a member)
Signature:
Date:
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Bamford Community Society Limited
Codicil
What happens to my shares when I die?
When you die, what would you like to happen to your shares in the Society? We’re sorry if this sounds a little morbid, but it’s a serious question – and one we think most of our members haven’t thought about. So, can we ask you to read what’s written below, and then act by completing a statement of wishes or (preferably) a codicil to your existing will.
Firstly, you should know there are three ways your community shares can be dealt with on your death:
· Surrender some or all your shares to the Society. When you surrender shares, they are cancelled and your investment will effectively become a donation to the Society.
· Nomination. You can nominate a person aged 16 or over to whom you wish your shares to be transferred on your death. Trustees will need to be appointed for a nominee under 16 years old. If you are a joint shareholder, your holding will pass to the other joint shareholder(s) on your death, unless you nominate someone else using the form below.
· Withdraw some or all your shares, in line with the Societies Rules and policies.
It is possible to choose a combination of the three options – for example, surrender half your community shares and nominate someone to whom you wish to transfer the other half.
Many thanks for reading this far. If you have an existing will, you may wish to create a codicil (a small change to the will). You may wish to seek legal advice, or you could complete the codicil form, by arranging two people to witness your signature and attaching this page to your will. Otherwise, complete the codicil form, sign it and keep it with your share certificate. This will create a statement of wishes, which your executor can either follow or may choose to ignore if he or she so decides. Bamford Community Society Limited will respect your wish insofar as the law and our Rules permit.
It would help us if you let us know your decision (email: bcscompsec@gmail.com)
Bamford Community Society Limited
Codicil to the will of………………………….………………………. [name]
I ……………………………………………………………………. [full name] am the holder of ………….…….…. [insert number] of shares in Bamford Community Society,
Share certificate number: ………
On my death, I request my executors to dispose of these shares as set out below.
This request is to be treated as a codicil to my will dated ……………………………. [dated].
My shares should be disposed of as follows:
1) SURRENDER ……….………. [insert number] shares to the Society.
2) I NOMINATE ……………...…….………………………………………….……. [name]
of…………………………………………………………………………...…. …..…..…… [contact address]
to receive ………..… [insert number] of shares.
3) WITHDRAW …………….…… [insert number] shares, and deal with the proceeds in accordance with my will or the laws of intestacy
The receipt of the secretary or other officer for the time being of the said charity shall be sufficient discharge to my Executors.
Signed by me ……………………………………………. [signature] on ……….………….………. [date]
Witness 1 Witness 2
Full name
Address
Occupation
Signature
Date
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