The Bevy has a year to buy its building, and is crowdfunding the first £100,000

The Bevy^1,2,3, the community-owned pub in Moulsecoomb, has started a fundraiser to buy its building. Its landlord, East Brighton Trust, has given the pub until 1 October 2027 to buy the premises at a fixed price.

The pub’s committee needs £500,000 to own the building outright, according to the1news⁴, which reported the fundraiser. The committee is aiming for £600,000 in all, to cover the purchase plus essential improvements and costs. The money is meant to come from a mix of grants, loans, investment and public support, and the first £100,000 is being raised from supporters through a Crowdfunder.

“We have a year to make community ownership happen,” said Warren Carter, who chairs the committee. “No one built this place alone, and no one needs to buy it alone either.”

The pub says it is not asking to be rescued. It describes itself as “busy, profitable” and says more than 800 people come through the doors each month. “We own the pub, but not the building,” it says on its website.

Gary Pleece, chief executive of East Brighton Trust, said the committee, staff and volunteers had made the Bevy “a real asset to its community for years”. He said the trust’s job as landlord was to give the community “the time and the support to get the chance to build a sustainable future that they’re in full control of”.

In August, Brighton and Hove News⁵ reported that the trust intended to sell the building in September and that the Bevy was trying to raise the money to buy it.

Alongside the bar, the Bevy runs a seniors’ lunch club, a dementia-friendly café, a disability disco and a job club.

Donations go through the Crowdfunder. Community shares cost £10 a year and come with a vote at the AGM. For the bigger sums, the pub says it wants to hear from businesses, trusts, funders and investors.