Our open share offer provides an opportunity for our supporters to join the ELC as an investor member for as little as £150 (or £50 if you live within 5 miles of one of our sites) and become a more active part of our growing community, receive annual interest of up to 3% on their investment and vote on key questions at our AGM.
Our investor members are the backbone of our finance and have skills and knowledge that we often draw upon. Anyone over the age of 18 can be an ELC investor member.
Therefore, we are delighted to invite you to purchase shares in Ecological Land Limited, trading as the Ecological Land Cooperative (ELC), a Society registered in England with the Financial Conduct Authority (no. 30770 R) under the Cooperative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.
Business plan and cooperative rules
Please read our business plan and cooperative rules to help you make your decision about whether to invest.
Please read the terms and conditions (below) in full before applying.
The purpose of this open offer is to to allow those who have already invested money with us to withdraw their share capital if they wish, and to build up funds before our next major round of community investment.
On investing, you become a member of the Cooperative. Each member has one vote irrespective of the number of shares held. Shares can be purchased jointly, but jointly held share holdings still only hold a single vote.
Anyone can invest (over the age of 18), with a minimum investment of £150 or maximum investment of £5,000. The minimum investment to those living locally to one of our sites is £50. Shares are priced at £1 each. Email dylan@ecologicalland.coop to find out if you qualify for local investor membership.
You can also register an interest now in future time-bound share offers which will have a higher maximum investment cap. We will then only contact you when we next launch a time-bound share offer backed by a full business plan. Email dylan@ecologicalland.coop to register your interest.
This Offer has been prepared by the Ecological Land Cooperative staff team supported by professional advice, and the Board of Directors takes responsibility for its contents. Due care has been taken to ensure that all information and opinions contained within it are fair and accurate at the time of issuing the Share Offer.
This Share Offer is exempt from the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, or subsidiary regulations. This means you have no right of complaint to an ombudsman. The Cooperative is registered with, but not authorised by, the Financial Conduct Authority and therefore the money you pay for your shares is not safeguarded by any depositor protection scheme or dispute resolution scheme.
Interest payable on shares is voted on at the annual general meeting, following a recommendation by the Board of Directors. Interest is paid gross and is taxable. It is your responsibility to declare these earnings to HMRC. Investor Members can, if they wish, choose to waive their interest return in order to further support the Cooperative’s work.
The Cooperative anticipates paying interest on shares at 3% (or a lower rate selected by the Investor, upon receipt of your investment); however, a return on your investment is not guaranteed and this should be regarded primarily as a social, rather than a financial investment.
Shares are withdrawable upon application to the Board. They are not transferable (expect on death or bankruptcy), so the value of shares is not subject to speculation and the shares remain at their paidup value (i.e. £1 each, which is the purchase price). The Board of Directors has the authority to, in exceptional circumstances, write down the value of shares in order to protect the financial stability of the Cooperative.
We encourage investors to view shares purchased as a long term investment of three years or more. The Board will limit total withdrawals in any one year to a maximum of 10% of the total share capital held by the Cooperative. The Cooperative is regularly contacted by people wishing to invest with us. Following the closure of this Share Offer, we will establish a waiting list of prospective investors; as new members join and invest, their capital investment will enable prior investors to withdraw.
We will always seek to facilitate withdrawals at the earliest possible opportunity, but please note that all withdrawals are at the Board’s discretion, and the right to withdraw may be suspended by the Board at any time.
You cannot sell your shares, except back to the Cooperative itself, which requires giving three months’ notice of your wish to withdraw your investment to the Board. Your withdrawal will be subject to the conditions outlined above.
This Offer is not eligible for tax relief under either the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) or Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR).
Shares will be allocated on a first come first served basis. The Cooperative reserves the right to suspend the offer at any time.
You are able to purchase shares jointly with someone else and you can also choose to hold shares on behalf of children; you may also nominate a person to whom you wish your shares to be transferred on your death.
Only one application per person or body will be accepted and the application must be accompanied by a cheque for the appropriate sum or notification of bank transfer.
Applicants will receive an email receipt detailing the date on which their application was received. Investor Members receive annual statements detailing their current shareholding plus any interest received.
We would love you to invest with us! However, please note that all applications for shares are accepted at the discretion of the Board of Directors. The Board reserves the right not to issue shares, or to allocate fewer shares than applied for. They do not have to give any reason for this decision. The Board will return your money to you within 28 days of their decision if they decide not to issue shares to you. If they decide to issue fewer shares than you applied for, they will return the balance to you within 28 days of that decision.
An investment of this type carries risks and you may lose the value of your investment. Before deciding to invest you may want to seek independent advice.
Ecological Land Cooperative is the trading name of Ecological Land Limited, registered with the FCA under the Cooperative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, Reg. No 30770 R.
