This year Co-op Fortnight, the annual UK celebration of co-operation, is a time for reflection. What can we learn from the way co-ops and communities have responded to the pandemic? How can we ensure we build something better for the future? Co-op Loan Fund brings together the UK’s biggest and smallest co-op businesses in a […]
It’s now a little over seven weeks since the UK Lockdown was announced, in an effort to control the spread of COVID-19. Things have changed – some a little, some a lot – and so here’s our latest round up of the guidance, support and information out there. We are continuing to work remotely and […]
A unique music co-operative is developing new ways to bring musicians and audiences together while the venue it owns remains closed. The Globe in Newcastle upon Tyne was bought by Jazz.Coop in 2014 with investment from a community share issue and loans from Co-op Loan Fund and Co-operative & Community Finance. It is thought to […]
Much has changed in recent weeks but discerning drinkers have not lost their taste for the funky modern beer made by Boundary Brewing Cooperative in Belfast. The brewery closed when lockdown was introduced but started production again a few weeks later to meet the growing demand for its distinctive cans of craft beers. Head brewer […]
Co-op Loan Fund has lent a cumulative total of £5m in nearly 200 loans since it started in 2002. This landmark figure was reached with a loan to PrimePac Solutions, an employee-owned business in south Wales that has increased production to meet a huge increase in demand for sanitising and cleaning products. Co-op Loan Fund […]
“This is what resilience looks like on the ground” said Kath Dalmeny, chief executive of Sustain speaking on BBC Radio 4 about the work Greenwich Co-operative Development Agency (GCDA) is doing in partnership with the local authority and a community trust to ensure that vulnerable people have enough to eat. GCDA has redeployed nearly half […]
At a time when many businesses have temporarily closed, an employee-owned company in south Wales has increased production to cope with a big rise in demand for its packaging services. In recent weeks PrimePac Solutions Ltd in Ebbw Vale has been inundated with orders to package sanitising and cleaning products. It has also bought a […]
A worker co-operative with a mission to build a new economy is preparing to open a residential training centre, with finance from Co-op Loan Fund. Stir to Action, which runs national workshop programmes, supports co-operative and community business development, and publishes a magazine, has secured the lease, on very favourable terms, for Selgars Mill near […]
With the Bank of England emergency interest announcement today, and reports of stockpiling, we know that many organisations are keeping a close eye on their financial position. If you are a customer and are facing any financial difficulties as result of the current situation then please email info@coopfinance.coop or phone 0117 916 6750 so that […]
Fairtrade Fortnight is bigger and better than ever this year. This annual promotional campaign is effective at both increasing product sales and building belief in the possibility of a better world. Co-operatives have played a major role in the development of Fairtrade across the world. In 1998, the Co-operative Group became the first UK major […]
