PURCHASE UPDATE and NEXT STEPS for Members and Investors:

We did it!

On behalf of The Centurion, we are overwhelmed that our community has come together to raise the money to help buy our pub. However, the journey continues to purchase the pub from Admiral and this post provides an update on our journey to date and the next steps.

We have now formally given our intention to Admiral Taverns to buy the pub for £600,000, the agree price. Just to remind everyone, the funds to be raised, secured or agreed are:

Community Ownership Fund (COF) Govt Grant £250,000 Secured

Share Offer £192,652 Raised, in bank

Commercial Loan £175,00 Offers in Progress with two high street banks

Total Raised £617,652

Note we were required to raise a minimum of £120,000 as part of the share offer to prove community engagement, to receive the COF grant - we far exceeded that target.

The aim is that the purchase will be processed via the Transfer of Going Concern regulations and VAT on the purchase will be deemed to be exempt.

Together, we have raised an astonishing £192,652 from the share offer, well over the target of £175,000. With the extra £17,652, we propose to pay stamp duty, likely to be around £19,500 on the purchase. We will also be required to pay legal fees and other costs as part of the sale process.

Shares will be issued when the purchase of the pub is finalised, as per the Terms and Conditions outlined in the share offer. Until then all payments are held in a ring-fenced separate bank account.

Next steps:

1. Admiral have advised that they complete their legal processes in 6-8 weeks.

2. We are in the process of appointing a conveyancing solicitor.

3. The Commercial loan offer will be finalised very soon, but this may take up to 16 weeks to complete.

4. We should exchange contracts by mid-August.

5. We have until the end of September to ‘draw down’ the government grant.

If you have any further questions or queries at this time, please email TheCenturionShareOffer2023@outlook.com

Thank you again for all your support and we will provide updates on the next steps when we can.

Issued on behalf of the Management Committee

Centurion Community Action Group Ltd

CENTURION SHARE OFFER

Many of you may be aware the Centurion has been run by the community for the community, for the last 7 years via a lease agreement with owners Admiral Taverns. Our aim has always been to purchase the pub to secure its future as a community asset, and we are currently in a position where this is a real possibility!

In September 2023 we were told we had been successful in our application to the Community Ownership Fund and had been awarded a grant of £250,000 towards the purchase of the pub. However, this grant is time limited under the the condition that we raise the remaining funding towards the purchase price - therefore we have launched our share offer to raise £175,000 from the local community.

If we do not raise the required funds and complete the purchase of the pub by September 2024, our opportunity to purchase the pub will be lost and we will have to return the £250,000 grant from Community Ownership Fund

We need your support to secure the future of the pub! You can keep up to date with our progress which is detailed below and also via our Facebook group Centurion Pub Chester (CCAG ltd)

Full details of this is in our share offer document, FAQ’s and the share offer application forms which you can access by clicking the links below - please scroll down to the bottom of this page to find the links.

You can also collect the information pack and application forms in person from the pub or request via email thecenturionshareoffer2023@outlook.com