Calon Wen (meaning ‘white heart’ in Welsh) is a farmers’ co-operative with 25 members from all over Wales who produce a total of 19 million litres of organic milk a year. They set up the co-operative in 2000 with the aim of securing a long-term market for organic milk from Wales and they supply some […]
The Co-operative Loan Fund helped an employee-owned care provider to smooth the financial highs and lows of rapid growth. The workload and staffing of Newcastle Home Care Associates (NHCA) doubled since it successfully re-tendered to provide services to the local authority in August 2012. It is contracted to provide 2,600 hours of care a week. […]
Two specialist co-operative funds are working together to help raise the final pounds needed before work can start on transforming an empty historic building in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, into a community-owned cultural and business asset. The community co-operative set up to restore and run Unity Hall has already raised nearly £4m, had its plans approved […]
With the recent loans released to School Trends and Valley Organics cumulative lending since The Co-operative Loan started in 2002 has topped £3m. Although the fund was created to lend to co-operative business ventures that some lenders might regard as high risk, in fact the level of bad debt and write off is very low. […]
One of the UK’s leading suppliers of decorated school uniform, which is employee-owned, has bought back the freehold of its headquarters for less than it sold it for nine years ago. Co-operative & Community Finance made one of its largest-ever loans to help Sheffield-based School Trends to raise the funds to complete the purchase. School […]
Valley Organics, the specialist grocers in the centre of Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, opened on 4 June as usual but with new owners – the employees. With expert advice from The Co-operative Enterprise Hub and finance from The Co-operative Loan Fund they have set up a co-operative and bought the business from the previous owners […]
The residents of Chittlehamholt in north Devon are making the final preparations for the opening of their new community-owned shop at the end of June. Chittlehamholt (population 400) and the nearby villages of Warkleigh and Satterleigh have not had a local shop since Chittlehamholt Post Office closed in 2009. The nearest shops were over 6 […]
A community association that brings together three small villages in the Norfolk Broads has bought and renovated the one shop in the area that had been closed since December 2011. The White House Stores in Neatishead (which also serves the villages of Barton Turf and Irstead) re-opened on 9 March after a complete refurbishment made […]
For the first time in 15 years the 400 residents of Beech Hill, Berkshire, have a local shop and it’s in an unusual venue – the church. A loan from the Co-operative Loan Fund was used to fit bespoke wooden cabinets, made by a local carpenter, in St Mary’s church which hide the stock and […]
The Co-operative Loan Fund assisted The Bakery Dunbar back in 2011, when Dunbar residents formed a community co-operative with the vision of re-opening the only bakery in their village. The venture attracted investment from over 550 local supporters, and the co-op happily opened its doors (and turned on the ovens) in October 2011. We’ve watched […]
