The year is 2023, and Community Shares Scotland has supported an exciting new initiative in Dundee. While the details of this case are of course fictional, hopefully it can inspire other ideas!

Melodee formed in 2020, originally promoting gigs in pop up spaces across Dundee on the last Thursday of each month. The events quickly gained popularity, becoming more frequent and moving into bigger spaces.

The student group behind the project quickly began looking at options to establish a more permanent base. After taking inspiration from Le Public Space in Newport and The Exchange in Bristol, they decided a community run venue would be an ideal way to continue the collaborative model that had made them so successful.

With the support of Cooperatives Development Scotland and Community Shares Scotland, Melodee established a community benefit society and began making plans to issue community shares.

They identified a site they could lease, with a long-term ambition to purchase the building if the venture was successful. Spread across three stories, the building would be adapted to house venue space in its access-friendly basement, a bar and café on its ground floor, and a record store, gallery and shared meeting space above.

The community share offer launched in August 2023, with high profile gigs planned across university fresher’s week to attract new students arriving in the city. Capitalising on the support they had already built through their successful events gave Melodee real momentum to build on, with their passionate supporters helping to spread news of the share offer far and wide.

The share offer raised £170,000, enough to fund an initial five-year business plan after which the venue would aim to be sustainable on its own income. Community shares could be issued again in future to fund the purchase of the building.