Invitations to invest in a not for profit, non dividend paying company are pretty unusual if not unique. The Bluebell Railway PLC is making just such an invitation a reality. Since 1960 the Bluebell Railway has run steam trains through the High Weald, an area of outstanding natural beauty in deepest Sussex. Now the railway wants to raise £5m to reach the historically important town of East Grinstead and steam into a station adjacent to the national rail network.Roy Watts Chairman of the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society, the majority shareholder in Bluebell Railway PLC, said "This is a very important moment for the Railway. Returning to East Grinstead has been our ambition for nearly fifty years".
Bluebell Railway PLC are offering 1,800,000 shares at £1 and the funds raised will go towards the £4 million needed to carry out civil engineering works associated with reaching East Grinstead. Investors will receive no dividend nor can the shares be traded but shareholders will receive benefits ranging from free access to the railway to free dining in the Bluebell's prestigious Golden Arrow Pullman dining train as well as a share certificate in a not for profit company. The minimum investment is £250.
For UK tax payers who would like to support the Bluebell with sums less than £250, gift aid donations to the Bluebell Railway Trust can be made so that the railway will receive an additional 28% in tax benefit.
Copies of the share prospectus or gift aid forms may be obtained by contacting the Bluebell Railway Customer Service Team on 01825 720800, via the web site at www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/offer or write to: PDE, Bluebell Railway, Sheffield Park Station, Uckfield TN22 3QL
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Page created 15 July 2008 by Richard Salmon with material supplied by the Bluebell's Press Officer, Avril Gaynor