Residents are now community owners of their village pub, buying it from its commercial brewery owners after raising loan finance and a successful community share offer.
The Lion at Ickleton (previously known as the Ickleton Lion and before that, The Red Lion) has been serving locals in the Cambridgeshire village since 1728. Unhappy with its owners Greene King, the community came together to take ownership of the pub after it was designated an asset of community value by the local parish council in 2014.
Ickleton Community Pub Ltd was registered as a community benefit society with the assistance of Plunkett UK in May 2024, before carrying out local consultation and community engagement work, including public meetings, WhatsApp groups, surveys, social media pages, events, activities and fundraisers.
After positive feedback from residents and local businesses, the society undertook a community share offer raising £441k. After topping this up with loan finance from Co-operative & Community Finance (CCF) they were able to agree a purchase price with Greene King.
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The committee is made up of members with a range of skills and experience, who have opted for a hands-on approach to the pub and its activities. To keep community control to the maximum, they will be directly managing the pug and hiring staff rather than taking on tenants.
“It’s been incredibly rewarding to see the community come together to back this project – not just financially, but through countless hours of hard work and dedication,” said treasurer Steve Allen. “Raising over £440,000 through our share offer was no small feat, and the additional support from CCF really helped turn our dream of community ownership into a reality. Their backing has given us the means to bring our beloved pub back to life as a proper hub at the centre of village life.”
Kevin Lloyd-Evans, lending and relationship manager at CCF, added: “We were proud to support this inspiring community-led project, where local people came together to save their pub and transform it into a vibrant hub. Our loan helped bring their vision to life – proof that when communities lead, real change happens.”
