Supporters of the Trafalgar in South Wimbledon, known locally as the Traf, are seeking to raise £250,000 through a community share offer to purchase the pub’s £500,000 freehold.
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If successful, it would make the Traf Merton’s first community-owned pub.
The share offer is open until 17 November, with the purchase required to be completed by Christmas Eve.
It follows a three-year battle to protect the venue, with residents successfully fighting off multiple planning applications to demolish and redevelop the site.
Following negotiations with the current freeholder, campaigners have secured a protected period to buy the pub’s freehold for £500,000. If they do not raise the money, the agreement is void.
A Community Benefit Society (CBS) was set up last year to purchase the building and inherit the existing lease held by operator Oli Carter-Esdale, who would continue running the pub if the purchase was successful.
A spokesperson for the CBS told The Morning Advertiser (The MA): “The only way to protect the Traf for generations is community ownership.
Long-term future
“The long-term future of the [venue] as a pub is not secure until the bricks and mortar is owned and run by people who want it to remain as a pub.”
Located on High Path, The Traf claims to be Wimbledon’s oldest free house and has become a destination for locals and real-ale enthusiasts.
The pub won CAMRA South West London Pub of the Year in 2024 and 2026, CAMRA South West London Cider Pub of the Year in 2025 and was recently named in The Telegraph’s Top 500 Pubs in England.
The campaign has received strong community support so far, with almost 140 people attending a meeting about the plans earlier this month.
“The response from the community has been hugely encouraging,” the spokesperson added.
“These walls have truly seen it all and that gives it a special atmosphere that can’t be recreated.”
CBS spokesperson for the Trafalgar
“Momentum behind the campaign has really been the reason we have been able to get this far and launch the community share offer.”
The group reached more than 20% of its £250,000 target within 24 hours of the meeting.
Anyone can invest from a minimum of £250 and become a member of the CBS, with each member receiving one vote regardless of the size of their investment.
Investors will also be offered perks including pub discounts, brewery trips and inclusion on a wall of honour at The Traf.
The group said it hoped the Traf could also become a blueprint for other communities trying to save pubs facing closure or redevelopment.
Strong start
“If we are successful, we hope the Traf can be a model of community ownership that will be able to give advice and support to other communities looking to go down the same path,” the spokesperson continued.
“We have been very grateful to receive advice ourselves from [other] community-owned pubs and we would continue to pay that forward.”
The CBS is aiming to raise at least £250,000 through the share offer, with the remaining funding likely to come through loans.
Despite the strong start, campaigners wared there was still significant work to do in order to hit their target ahead of the deadline.
The spokesperson described the Traf as “the community’s living room”, adding: “Some people have met their life partners here, some have had their first drink here and are still drinking here 50 years later.
“Many choose to share their huge life events with the Traf, be that weddings, funerals, birthdays and new babies.
“These walls have truly seen it all and that gives it a special atmosphere that can’t be recreated.”
- Support the campaign here
