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 […]
Manchester based energy co-operative Biomass Energy is leading the way in the field of renewable energy, with revolutionary multi-fuel biomass boilers. The boilers use a new technology developed in the Czech Republic (but not seen in the UK before now), and burn waste such as olive pits, straw pellets, and agricultural waste, as well as more traditional […]
One of the leading providers of home care in Scotland is set for further growth thanks to a refinancing package involving three ethical lenders. Loans The Co-operative Loan Fund, Co-operative & Community Finance, and Big Issue Invest have given Highland Home Carers, an employee-owned business with nearly 250 staff, the capacity and incentive to win more […]
A co‐operatively owned shop in Nottingham, which celebrates African culture and tradition, is buying new stock thanks to a loan from The Co‐operative Loan Fund. AfriCo‐operative is a new community shop specialising in African food, cosmetics, hair products, music and DVDs. Nottingham has an emerging African community, which totals over 3.6% of the city’s population, […]
