CREDITON bookshop The Bookery has raised as much as £31,000 in its recent community share offer.

The offer was launched on November 13 and ended on January 25 with a celebratory event at the bookshop featuring coffee and cake and live music.

The price per share was £20 with a minimum investment of £20 and a maximum of £8,000.

Individual investors bought shares amounting to more than £21,000. This was matched pound-for-pound up to a limit of £10,000 by Co-operatives UK for a total of £31,000.

The Bookery will use the money raised to invest in its outreach work with schools, families and older people and to improve the shop.

Andrew Davey, Chair of Crediton Community Bookshop, the community benefit society behind the business, said: “When we launched our community share offer in mid-November we had our fingers crossed that the strength of support for the bookshop and its extensive community outreach work with schools and care homes would help us to reach our target of £20,000.

“We are delighted that a combination of longstanding supporters, customers, book lovers and well-wishers has got us over the finishing line.”

Following the community share offer, The Bookery now has nearly 500 individual shareholders.

Secretary Les Bright added: “As well as raising cash to support our ambitious plans to carry on developing our impact on the local community we are especially pleased to be welcoming so many new members.

“Members are the lifeblood of organisations like ours, whether buying one share for £20 – or more – they will all have one vote in our affairs.

“We feel sure they will bring energy and ideas that will drive our commercial success and community benefit.”

You can find out more about the bookshop and sign up to its newsletter by visiting: thebookery.org.uk.