A WINSFORD publican hopes to grow a stable of four venues to more than twenty across the Weaver Valley in just five years, using a new business model that’s got the pub industry buzzing.

Cornerstone Inns, which operates De bees, the Red Lion, the Gate Inn and the Princess Feathers in Winsford, is aiming to sell community shares at new venues so regulars can benefit from their local pub’s fortunes.

The move effectively offers a workable alternative to the pubco model – a hot topic in the industry that ties landlords to breweries or large companies, and which the likes of CAMRA have blamed for the closure of Britain’s boozers.

“Presently, Cornerstone Inns’ sites in Winsford help to knit the town together. We have one positive community that extends across our pubs, scaling this up to knit the Weaver Valley together is the challenge,” explained Cornerstone MD, Damon Horrill.

Cornerstone wants to raise £50,000 per pub by selling a 24 per cent stake in each venue to customers via crowd funding website Bank to the Future, giving people a chance to have a stake in their local and entitling them to free food and drinks each month.

The Cornerstone model of granting new licensees a 25 per cent stake in the business, in addition to their wages, has already created waves in trade press titles the M&C Report and the Morning Advertiser.

Now the word’s out, Damon said he wants to find suitable licensees that can bring something new to the table, ensuring each venue brings something fresh to Winsford and further afield.

“It is important that we find the right host for a pub. For example, if the vision for a site is as a real ale pub with a focus on folk music, we will be looking for a host who is a real ale expert and folk music enthusiast in order that the experience is genuine.”

The first tranche of shares will be limited to people within Weaver Valley postcodes.

To register interest in shares or to become a host, email damon@cornerstoneinns.co.uk