THE SUBSCRIPTION ROOMS

GEORGE STREET

STROUD

BID

Bids must be recorded and submitted using this document.

The level of detail to be provided in each section will vary according to the type and scale of your response. The Council are looking for comprehensive answers, so if a particular response is more than one page, please make sure all subsequent pages and anyadditional attachments, or spreadsheets are clearly referenced to the right section.

  1. NAME OF ORGANISATION SUBMITTING THIS BID

Ecotricity Group Ltd
  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Our proposal is to:
  • Purchase the freehold of the Subscription Rooms;
  • Maintain public use of the venue for live entertainment and cultural/community events, whilst taking all responsibility for operating and capital costs from the Council;
  • Accommodate the Tourist Information Office;
  • Operate the venue as a multi-use facility for the staff of Ecotricity Group.
We see the venue in two halves: the upstairs ballroom and associated rooms would be used primarily as a staff breakout and internal event facility, save for principally Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings when it would be used, as now, as a public venue for live entertainment; and the Ground Floor level which will remain as a focal point for community activity such as public exhibitions, classes, schools events etc.
We believe that this ‘private/public hybrid’ approach would bring the building into more frequent use and more economic operation.
From a company perspective, our vision for the Sub Rooms is part of our broader vision for Ecotricity in Stroud. Our staff numbers locally exceed 700 and we have further plans for expansion by rebuilding the old Tax office which could add a further 300 people. We are keen that Stroud town centre remains a hub for our people and the Subscription Rooms would provide a focal point where they can meet for breaks, lunch, larger meetings etc. We don’t currently have any suitable space for this purpose and so it fulfils an important need for us.
From a public perspective, use of the building for community and cultural events and activities would be secured without cost to the public purse. We have discussed our approach with representative groups of users and supporters of the Subscription Rooms, such as the Gloucestershire Arts Council and the Subs Community Association, and who have confirmed their full commitment to work with us should our bid be successful.
  1. ABOUT YOU AND YOUR ORGANISATION

Please provide information on the legal status, structure, purpose and experience of your organisation
Ecotricity Group is a successful Stroud-based limited company established for more than 20 years. Employing almost 800 staff, we are the largest employer in the Stroud constituency. Our primary function is the generation and supply of renewable energy to UK-based customers, though that is by no means our only interest. Our passion is sustainability, in particular in the realms of energy, transport and food. As a company, we endeavour to live more sustainable lives, and this requires that we conduct our business ethically, pursuing outcomes other than profit.
Earlier this year, our company was identified as a ‘Company to Inspire Britain’ by the London Stock Exchange Group in a celebration of the fastest-growing and most dynamic small and medium sized businesses across the UK.
Our involvement in Forest Green Rovers Football Club has illustrated a long-term commitment to the area and an ability to fund and effect necessary structural changes, as well as safeguarding the cultural and social benefits of such a venue.
  1. YOUR PROPOSED SOLUTION

4.1Please indicate how your organisation is proposing to acquire the asset, the issue of ownership, and the cost.
Freehold andoffer for the Freehold(£)
or
Leasehold, duration (term of lease) and offer for the rent per annum (£)
(both net of VAT)
We propose to acquire the freehold of the Subscription Rooms, but offer a ‘hybrid’ solution, i.e. private ownership and use combined with community use.
Our offer is for £300,000 for the freehold of the building and including all items specified within the technical and furniture inventory provided by the Council.
In addition to the headline purchase figure, our offer provides significant added value via the retention of Stroud’s primary venue for live entertainment and community use and our offer to house the Tourist Information Office at no charge.
We are willing to negotiate on any aspect of our bid.
4.2Please indicate what your organisation wants to use the asset for.
Please demonstrate
a) any innovative approaches to service delivery and improved efficiency showing how this will help reduce the cost to the Council
b)what alternative use your organisation is proposing for the building
A key element of our bid is to ensure that the Subscription Rooms continues as an important community facility for the benefit of Stroud. We believe that the best way to ensure this would be to remove the financial liability from the Council, and our approach would achieve this and ensure the venue remained viable in the long term.
We propose to use the upper levels of the Subscription Rooms as an Ecotricity staff facility from Monday to Friday, for the purposes of larger meetings, staff events, training, break-out events, social events, rest and relaxation etc. Our staff growth within Stroud has been such that we aspire to create a central venue that we can dedicate to staff use outside of their normal working environment. We have no scope to do this within our existing estate.
We are committed to the continuation of the Subscription Rooms as a live entertainment venue as it is today, with the upper floor ballroom space available for bookings typically on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. We have seen that such use has been increasingly successful, and we wish to build on that success, maintaining and increasing its existing level of use. We would take full responsibility for the administration and organisation of this function.
Whilst we would not be seeking to staff and administer the Tourist Information Office, we would be happy to offer suitable ground floor space to accommodate this service at no charge - if that is what the town wants. (We are aware that Stroud Town Council is considering its accommodation elsewhere.)
Remaining ground floor space would be available for public exhibitions, classes, schools events etc. and we would consider other uses on this level. We would be keen to liaise with other parties who are focussed on the venue’s use as a cultural hub. To this end, we have liaised with and enlisted support for our bid from the Gloucestershire Arts Council and the Subs Community Association, the latter being the representative body of many of the current users and promoters of the Subscription Rooms. If we are successful, we would look to work with these and other interested groups (e.g. the Stroud Trust) in order to sustain and grow community use.
The Subscription Rooms is under-used as a venue currently and we believe strongly that there is capacity for these two distinctuses of the facility to co-exist to the benefit of our company and of our town. We have over 700 staff working within Stroud town at any one time, and our acquisition of the building will in itself help drive up attendances at live events.
We would not intend to make changes to the external appearance of the Subscription Rooms. Our wish is to preserve and protect its appearance and to help ensure its continuing existence as an important and accessible landmark venue within Stroud. We have reviewed the council’s 5 year maintenance plan and we would fully commit to its execution. Additionally, we would consider alterations to the upstairs bar area to reduce the ‘bottlenecking’ that is experienced at busy events. Part of the solution could involve an additional bar area within the ballroom.
We believe there may be a future role for a ground floor café/bar within the building too, and would consider this facility within our business development plan.
Under our proposal, the town would retain the Sub Rooms for community use but lose its ongoing financial liability; we believe that taking the public purse out of the equation offers the most sustainable solution.
4.3Please indicate if your bid includesretaining the Tourist Information Centrewithin the Subscription Rooms in some form, or not.
You are welcome to submit two bids showing both options if you wish.
We are agnostic about retaining the Tourist Information Office (TIO) within the building but if this is what the town wanted we would be willing to house it withoutcharge, though not to staff it. The continuing presence of the TIO within the building could provide a good indicator of the ongoing importance of the Subscription Rooms to the public at large.
4.4 Please provide a project plan or timetable for the delivery of the bid.
We are anticipating that any transfer of the property is completed by June/July 2018
We understand that a final decision will be made before the end of November 2017 and, if our bid was successful, we would draw up a detailed timetable to ensure timely delivery, with final transfer of ownership during May 2018 at the latest.
We would support the continuation of bookings of artists and eventsbeyond June 2018 via the existing staff in the run-up to transfer of ownership to help support a smooth transition and to avoid any gaps in the provision of community events.
  1. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

5.1Please provide a 5 year cash flow forecast that clearly shows
  • the amount of real savings the Council can make from its current spend
  • the ability to fund ongoing repairs and maintenance of the building
  • the funding sources for this model, as well as the level of financial viability of theorganisation
The real savings that the Council would make from its sale of the Subscription Rooms to Ecotricity Group Ltd would equate exactly to the Council’s existing and future financial liabilities, with the addition of net receipts in respect of business rates.
Ecotricity Group has a substantial property portfolio in the Stroud district already, owning a number of buildings including offices at Lion House, Imperial House, Unicorn House, Axiom House (all in Stroud), offices and factory premises at Q Park (in North Woodchester) and Forest Green Rovers’ football stadium (Nailsworth). Since our ownership, these premises have been subject to major refurbishment and are all well managed and maintained. We have seen the 5 year maintenance plan for the Subscription Rooms as produced by the Council and, as stated earlier, we fully intend and have the ability to carry out all works to ensure the building is maintained in a good and safe state of repair.
We are happy to share with the Council our cash flow forecast as per our 5 year Business Plan, and our audited accounts can be made available for inspection on request.
5.2 Please provide evidence of your funding sources, together with any information in support of your ability to finance your offer
  • Cash
  • Borrowings
  • Equity
If relevant, please highlight any requirement of funding from the Council
  • Capital
  • Revenue
The audited accounts of Ecotricity Group Ltd can be made available for inspection on request.
Ecotricity Group would require no funding from the Council.
  1. CONDITIONS

6.1Please list any conditions regarding your offer such as subject to survey, valuation etc
Include your response here or attach as a separate sheet
  • Completion of satisfactory due diligence on the property title documents to ensure no unreasonable or restrictive covenants or obligations;
  • Subject to a satisfactory structural survey.

6.2Please confirm Contact details for
  • This bid:
Trevor Saunders
Email:
Telephone: 07917 811421
  • Your solicitor:
Tom Cowling
Email:

How to submit your bid?

Please return your completed submission to: Paul Taylor, Project Manager.

We require an emailed copy of your submission including attachments to a secure mailbox:

Submission closing date is 17:00 on the 15th September 2017

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