News – Update 11th July 2025
We understand from the agents that an offer for The Hollybush has been accepted by the seller and that solicitors have been instructed. We will, of course continue to monitor the situation until the sale completes and will issue further updates as and if appropriate. Subject to that, many thanks all for your questions, support and ideas over the last 8 months or so. Hopefully we can meet in The Hollybush when it reopens!
Update Weds 25th June 2025
Good evening everyone.
Here is this week’s update.
Following on from the securing of HMRC Advance Assurance, we have seen an increase in investments which now total £143,000.
We’re also aware of further planned investments which, once received, will take the total to around £160,000.
Please, please keep making the investments. We continue to make steady progress towards our target.
A brief reminder of some of the benefits of investing:
• We get The Hollybush back into business serving the Community
• We create a local focal point where friends and neighbours can meet and events can be celebrated
• We create a sense of pride in our locality
• Generous tax reliefs at the time of investing, whilst retaining the ability to withdraw shares at the full amount invested, subject to complying with HMRC requirements and subject to the agreement of The Society
• If the business goes well, payment of interest on your investment budgeted at 3% from Year 4
• The Hollybush is secured as a Community Asset for the long term
Other updates are:
• we now have our flyers and posters available for distribution – see photo. Is there a volunteer on this group who would be willing, assisted by other volunteers, to take on the task of co-ordinating the delivery of those flyers to the local villages? Please let us know if you’d be willing to do that.
Also, let us know if you’d like a poster to put up to advertise our cause or if you know of a good location for us to put one
• huge thanks to Melissa Armitage who has taken the lead in developing and improving our social media presence. Hopefully you’ve all seen and liked the Facebook posts – a massive step up from what came before
• as previously mentioned we will have a presence and a stand at the Machen Show on 5 July. We’ll be there with our new and fully charged Sumup machine so we’re able to take donations and orders for T-shirts. Please come and say “hello” and show your support.
We’d also confirm that, as previously indicated, given that we now have Advance Assurance the Community Share Offer will not be closing on 30 June as originally proposed to allow time to access funds and make investments.
Finally, our next general update will be during the week commencing 7 July, but we will, in any event and as required, update on specific issues in the interim.
Many thanks again for your continuing support.
Update Friday 13th June 2025
Happy Friday everyone!
Following on from Wednesday’s messages, here is this week’s promised update.
Clearly the big news this week has been the securing of HMRC Advance Assurance, which we reported on Wednesday.
Prior to receiving Advance Assurance our total investments amounted to £136,000. We very much hope that this week’s news will help to secure a significant boost to this figure.
By way of a reminder of how to invest, Application Forms can be downloaded from our website – https://thehollybushdraethen.co.uk/ – and payment of investments can be made by Bank Transfer to the Society’s account, details of which are set out in the Application Form. Payment can also be made by cheque, which can be delivered/posted, with the completed Application Form, to Dragonfly House, Draethen NP10 8GA.
In addition, and for those that don’t have access to a printer, paper copies of the Application Form are held in the Noticeboard on the Draethen village green. If you’re unable to access that, please contact us and we’ll get a paper copy to you in some other way.
Other updates are:
• we made a first optimistic offer to the Seller to purchase The Hollybush. We’ve now had written confirmation that, as anticipated, the offer has been rejected
• all banners have now been erected. Look out for a sign at the junction of Machen mile and the road leading to Draethen and, temporarily, on scaffolding on a house on the road approaching Draethen from Michaelston-y-Fedw. See photos attached
• as previously mentioned we will have a presence at the Machen Show on 5 July. Please let us know if you’d like to come and give us a hand on the stand. In any event, if you’re there please come and say hello
Finally, as we’re all committed elsewhere and will have no Management Committee meeting, there will be no general update next week, but we will update on specific issues as necessary.
Thanks again for your support
Update Wednesday 11th June 2025
STOP PRESS!
We are very pleased to report that we have this morning received the advance assurance that we’ve been seeking from HMRC and that it’s been received for both SEIS and EIS tax relief.
This is great news and has been received much quicker than we’d anticipated. (We’d like to think this means that HMRC agrees with the justice of our cause, but……) 😉
Remember that SEIS relief at 50% is limited to the first £250,000 received so, if this relief is important to you, please complete your application as soon as possible to ensure that you don’t miss out.
If your investment isn’t in the first £250,000 received then you will still be entitled to EIS relief at 30% so investing remains an attractive proposition.
A full weekly update will follow in the next day or so.
Update Tuesday 3rd June 25
Hello everyone.
We had our weekly Management Committee Meeting yesterday and are pleased to report that investments now total £132,000 (an increase of £13,000 since the last update).
We were also able last week to complete our tax relief application, which has been submitted to and acknowledged by HMRC. We’re now waiting for them to process it and, hopefully, confirm that the reliefs are available.
We’ll update you as soon as we have further information, but meanwhile please continue to make investments as soon as possible. As a reminder only the first £250,000 received qualifies for SEIS relief.
As to other matters:
• the additional banners have been received and a number have been erected. Thanks to Machen RFC and to Andrew 👏 See also Llwyn Hir car park. We have tentative plans for the remaining 2 banners, but please say if anyone has a good idea for a location as we’d be more than happy to receive suggestions that can offer improved locations
• we will have a presence at the Machen Show on 5 July. Look out for a separate update about that
• we’re about to go to print on the posters/flyers and will let everyone know when they’ve been received so that we can enlist volunteers to post in target areas
Finally, please continue to make investments, spread the word as widely as possible and raise any questions, observations and suggestions to this group.
Thanks again for your support.
Update Sunday 25th May 2025
We hope everyone is having a good Bank Holiday weekend.
Investments into The Hollybush bank account have continued this week and we have now reached £119,000; this represents over 25% of our Minimum Target.
In addition we have received a donation of £250 from DWRCC for which we’re very grateful. 👏
We also (yesterday) received the long awaited information from HMRC meaning that we can press on with our application for tax relief. To repeat what we said last week, HMRC advises a 6-8 week period to process such applications once received.
We are very aware just how important this is for a number of potential investors and we’ll continue to update you as to its progress. We’re also committed to extend the Community Share Offer for a minimum of 1 month after we receive HMRC’s decision to allow further investments to be made and acknowledging that your funds may require a period of notice before they can be withdrawn.
Other updates are:
• 5 additional banners have been ordered and will be put up soon as they are received. We have recommendations for 3 sites and are still open to suggestions for the others
• we’re working on the posters/flyers and will let everyone know when they’ve been received
• we are approaching local businesses to see if we can drum up support and investment from them
In order to streamline the process the next and future updates will follow Management Committee meetings, which typically take place on a Monday or Tuesday.
However, as in previous weeks, please all continue to make investments, spread the word as widely as possible and raise any questions, observations and suggestions to this group.
Thanks for your support.
Update Sunday 18th May 2025
Investments have continued to be made at a steady, if unspectacular, rate. £12,000 has been received this week meaning that the grand total is now £112,000.
Clarifying that figure, we noticed that last week’s figure was overstated. This was due to a timing issue with money already in the bank and on the application forms, meaning that some investments were double counted. Many apologies for that confusion.
We have also discovered a mistake by HMRC with our UTRN (unique tax reference number), which is needed for our advance assurance application. We hope that has now been resolved – we’re waiting for the physical confirmation- but it does mean that the timescale for dealing with the application has been reset at an estimated 6-8 weeks.
We do know that SEIS relief is limited to the first £250,000 received. We already have more than 40% of that so if SEIS tax relief is important to you the message is to make your investment NOW so that you don’t risk losing out.
We’re also continuing to cross reference investments received against original pledges made so that we can stop guessing their intentions and will also be contacting those who attended the public meeting, but who haven’t yet invested, to find out if any further information is needed and to confirm the intentions of those individuals.
As to other matters:
• the 3 banners are now in place and are generating interest. We’re very happy to purchase more and would welcome recommendations of prime spots for them
• to further raise awareness, as we’ve learned this week of groups that aren’t yet aware of our project, we’re also producing posters/flyers for placing on any notice board locally and for distribution to households in the vicinity. Once those are ready we’ll again ask for recommendations for where to display them and for volunteers to deliver them
• we now have access to the old Hollybush Facebook page and its 1,400 followers so will be updating it when we can to reflect what’s now happening and further spread the message
Finally, to reiterate the response to a question that was raised this week in this group and has also been raised by others:”What happens to my investment if either someone else buys The Hollybush or we don’t raise enough to go ahead? The answer is that it will be returned to you net of your share of any costs incurred such as the cost of the banners/posters. Meanwhile the money is held in the CBS account with Co-op Bank, the majority of which is held on deposit so earning interest to set against costs.
Another full update will be sent next Sunday. Meanwhile continue to make investments, spread the word and post questions, observations and suggestions to this group.
Update Friday 9th May 2025
Investments are still being received. We would very much like to say that money is pouring in, but in truth it’s being received at a slower rate than we had hoped – £11,000 since Monday.
To all potential investors – please don’t wait until the end of June to invest. The sooner we have a significant proportion of the Minimum Target, the sooner we can open negotiations with proof of funding.
As to other matters:
• we are chasing HMRC re advance assurance for the tax reliefs, which will be important for some larger investors
• we will be contacting all those who originally pledged, but who have not yet invested, to see if they are able to honour their original pledge
• we have sourced a community minded surveyor to undertake a pro bono structural survey
• we have ordered some banners to advertise the community share offer
Further updates will follow, most likely weekly on Sundays starting, now, on 18th May.
Meanwhile please all get in touch with your friends and any other contacts to keep up the momentum.
We remain optimistic and enthusiastic and our project is receiving many positive comments. Let’s turn it into a reality!