Co-op Loan Fund are committed to supporting young people as we look towards the next generation of co-ops. In recent years there has been a noticeable surge in younger people getting involved in the co-operative movement, particularly around the sectors of worker co-ops, community-owned co-ops, eco co-ops, housing co-ops and tech co-ops. Whether it be […]
A community-based construction company has secured a loan from Co-op Loan Fund to purchase a new van enabling services that will provide training and supported employment for young people in the East Lothian area. The Ridge Foundations CIC is a construction company and social enterprise in Dunbar formed in 2016 as part of the Ridge […]
Members have received a huge boost by securing a financial package that enables ambitious and enterprising plans to renovate, develop and grow their sports and social club for the benefit of the local community. Based in the heart of the picturesque Victorian spa town of Leamington Spa, Oak House Sports and Social Club has a […]
A successful community owned and managed pub is now proudly powered by renewable energy as residents attract funding for solar panel installation. Located in Belthorn in Lancashire and just over three miles away from the centre of Blackburn, The Dog Inn has been a successfully run community owned pub since 2015. After opposing plans by […]
An historic village inn frequented by two of the most famous English landscape painters and now owned by its residents receives long-term finance boost. With an inn on its site going back all the way to 1305, The Lamarsh Lion Community Pub commands a superb view over the River Stour much loved and sketched by […]
Residents of Kingsley Holt have come together to save and repurpose their local chapel as a thriving community centre providing an essential meeting space, shop and café for the area. Situated in the Staffordshire Moorlands just a few miles away from Cheadle, the village of Kingsley Holt has had to rely on its neighboring market […]
A community owned bakery announces exciting new plans to buyout premises, provide apprenticeships and purchase new equipment. Located about 30 miles east of Edinburgh, Dunbar Bakery has been serving the community of Dunbar for over 150 years and as a co-operative with a membership of 1,300 since 2011. Wholly owned by its shareholders who mostly […]
A collective of hospitality and events workers in Plymouth have taken on the premises of a previously dormant college brewery to launch Borrowed Parts Brew Co. Operating out of a former teaching and commercial brewery installed by City College Plymouth in the year 2000, the group have revived and retrofitted the facility which has been […]
The co-operative movement has long been at forefront of putting environmental and ecological principles and values into action to tackle climate breakdown. Co-operatives have been global leaders in building economic, social and environmental sustainability through creating models of business based on ethical values and principles. Whether it be community renewable energy, sustainable co-operative housing, minimising […]
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 […]