Frequently asked questions
I'm an investor. How will my share withdrawals work?
Investments can be withdrawn after three years.
We will take applications for withdrawal from 1st to 31st December each year. We will email an application form to every investor ahead of the 1st December every year and make one available on our website for download. Once the application period has closed we will assess the demand for withdrawals and will inform investors within two weeks whether we will repay them in part or in full. Any investor who cannot be paid in full will be prioritized for the remainder of their withdrawal the following year.
All the capital we raise through the share offer will be spent on developing the homes at Lowfield Green. We are able to repay our investors their capital from income generated by residents of Lowfield Green Housing Co-operative. They repay the Lease-Loan agreement on the land at Lowfield Green over approx. 23 years and this allows us to repay our investors.
This means that at the end of each year we will have accrued 5% of the initial capital in repayments and this will be available for investors to withdraw. To increase the amount available for withdrawal each year would mean increasing the payments asked of residents, making them unaffordable. A key plank of maintaining affordability for residents is this slow repayment of share capital to investors.
Therefore we have limited the total amount of capital available each year.
In a scenario where all investors chose to draw out their investment equally each year, withdrawal of all share interest (above capital) would take 33 years to complete with each investor withdrawing 5% of their stake annually.
To help potential investors understand how much they could withdraw per year in this scenario, we've created four forecasts based on different levels of investment. You can view the forecasts here
In reality an individual’s withdrawal rate may vary due to different investors withdrawing their capital at different rates.
Do you have any other sources of money?
We secured grant money to cover the 15% deposit for purchasing the land. Our £420,000 share offer has raised the money to buy the land, cover fees and YorSpace’s development costs during the build phase.
We have also received public sector funding towards professional costs of Lowfield Green from Power to Change and Homes England, and are currently talking to funders about further continuation funding.
An important part of our funding strategy is ongoing donations from members and supporters. This will give us an invaluable fighting fund to continue to explore further developments across the City, and we are already working with City of York Council and other partners to scale up our work.
Once our first development is complete, we’ll have an income stream that enables us to undertake further projects in York.
