A COMPANY set up by local people who feared the impact of a national chain opening in Crickhowell is facing a £96,000 shortfall.

Corn Exchange Crickhowell Ltd was set up as a community interest company to buy the pub and convert it into retail units which it would let to independent traders. But the company’s annual general meeting has been told it doesn’t yet have enough money to finish converting the building and it has also struggled to find tenants for the three retail units.

Work began at the Corn Exchange in March and is due to be completed by the end of October but the company is £96,000 short of its £755,000 target. Its former owners, Punch Taverns, had in early 2015 planned to sell the building to a national convenience chain but following a public campaign by opponents who feared the impact on the high street, sold to the company established by campaigners. They feared the impact of a national chain opening in the town where nearly all existing businesses are independents and raised half a million pounds to buy the pub and convert the building.

Since then, they have stripped it out revealing significant structural problems in the process. Solutions were found to the problems and more shares were issued to cover the additional costs, but not all of them have yet been taken up.

Finance director Peter Roberts told the meeting of shareholders that they wanted to raise the final funds so they could secure the future of the Grade II listed building forever. He said: “By converting The Corn Exchange into rental units, we can keep control of the building and achieve our aim of protecting Crickhowell’s town centre.”

Managing director, Dean Christy, said other challenges included finding the right tenants to go into the three shops – which all have frontages on the High Street.

Shareholders were told that the initial trawl for businesses who expressed interest in the shops had been “disappointing” but the company would now redouble its efforts to find the right tenants.

After the meeting, Mr Christy said: “We don’t want national chains here, so this is a rare opportunity for independents to gain a foothold on Crickhowell’s bustling High Street.”

Small businesses interested in space in The Corn Exchange are asked to contact the team via [email protected].