Community Ownership

The Co-operative Loan Fund has made many loans to community-owned shops throughout the country, and we are very pleased to announce our first loan to a community-owned pub, The Butchers Arms in Cumbria.

Money from The Co-operative Loan Fund, along with support from The Co-operative Enterprise Hub, and the rallying of 300 villagers who raised substantial funds, has resulted in the pub’s opening success. Approximately £300,000 was raised, much to the community’s delight. It is the only pub in the village of Crosby Ravenscroft.

The money raised was used to help the new community co-operative to buy, refurbish and re-open the pub in August 2011. The pub has been renovated, with a beer garden and full kitchen installed. The Butchers Arms had been closed for almost year following the retirement of its owners.

Cameron Smith, treasurer of the new co-operative pub, said: “This has been an incredible community project to be involved in and, this pub will now benefit from having around 300 ‘co-owners’ committed to its future success. It has brought our community together in many different ways and, the support already received from volunteers and trades could not have been better.

“We have been overwhelmed with the interest in the project. We have shareholders coming from all corners of the UK and, even have a waiting list of potential investors for future share allocations. Around half of our members are local but we have had investors from as far afield as Alaska, America and Australia.”

The co‑operative’s application to The Co‑operative Loan Fund had been approved early in the process, and this objective appraisal of viability contributed to the success of the community share issue which easily reached its target. Shortly before the pub opened, the co-operative approached The Co-operative Loan Fund for a loan to help with working capital.
The community co-op intends to be closely involved with the village to ensure that the community also benefits through events, celebrations and cultural and social activities.

The Butchers Arms has reopened as a traditional Cumbrian pub, serving ales, lager, wine and locally sourced, community supported food.

For further information about The Butchers Arms visit: www.thebutchersarmscrosbyravensworth.com

Mica DIY is a co-operative of retailers which provides marketing, joint buying, store development and training for its members. It offers them a support structure, while maintaining their independence.

The organisation was previously a 60% member-owned business, called Mica UK Ltd. A victim of the recession, Mica UK went into administration in 2009. Board members chose to set the organisation up again, and in March 2010 members voted to change the ownership to a 100% member-owned co-operative.

It now has over 60 members with shops across the UK, from the Isle of Skye to the South Coast of England, who all have an equal say in the running of the business.

“When Mica UK went into administration, members quickly decided to set it up again as Mica DIY Ltd,” said Chief Executive Steve Ball. “The members felt that it was the right thing to do, as the organisation was already run with co‑operative values. It was a good decision that it should be entirely member‑run.
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The Co-operative Loan Fund provided a loan to help Mica with its working capital. Mica DIY also received advice from The Co-operative Enterprise Hub to assist with its launch as a co-operative.

“We have used the services of Co‑operatives UK, The Co-operative Enterprise Hub, and The Co-operative Loan Fund to achieve our co-operative status” said Steve. “All these organisations have provided useful assistance and resources to us, and we have found their staff to be very helpful.”

Mica is an important example of how support can be provided to retailers without stamping a rigid franchising structure on them.

“Since there has been a dominant presence of large national and international chains such as Homebase and B&Q, smaller independent retailers have been squashed,” said Steve. “Mica DIY supports these independent retailers.

“There is also the problem that many of these retail giants sit in retail parks, outside of city centres. Towns and cities are beginning to suffer because of this. The majority of our members own stores in towns, and this goes towards maintaining the local economy.

Ian Rothwell of The Co-operative Loan Fund said: “Mica is different from many of The Co-operative Loan Fund’s other customers. It’s good to see independent retailers co-operating to take on the big names. This shows the power of the co‑operative business model.”

For further information about Mica DIY visit: www.micahardware.co.uk

‘The shop at Strood Green’ is a community-owned shop based in Betchworth, Surrey which was established following the closure of its local Post Office. In the space of nine months, the community raised over £80,000 to fund a local village shop and since opening in March 2009, the store already has a turnover of more than £6,000 a week. The shop secured a loan from The Co-operative Loan Fund back in October 2008 and has used the money to transform a run-down shop into the vibrant hub of the community.

TheUKhas seen an influx of community shops in recent years due the closure of small village stores, and Strood Green has become the latest community-owned shop to benefit from the Village CORE Programme. As part of the Programme, the Co-operative Loan Fund works in partnership with the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and the Plunkett Foundation to offer community-owned shops financial aid in the form of grants and loans, as well as a range of business advice to help support the community venture.

Helen Melia, Acting Chair of the Strood Green Committee said: “Our local Post Office closed in 2006 when the owners retired. Obviously it was a great loss, as it wasn’t just the loss of postal services, but the loss of a meeting place. The community really pulled together to organise events and donate their time and money to raising the funds for a new village shop, and with the support of local businesses, community grants and the Village CORE Programme we have now achieved our goal.”

She added: “The Village CORE Programme has had such a positive effect on the shop at Strood Green. The combination of a grant, loan and community investment has been a huge incentive for residents to raise the funds, and I believe it is important that the community feel as though it has contributed to the success of this project. We have held fundraising events including selling strawberries and cream around the village, and held a number of events at the original shop so people could see the amount of wor”

The shop is run by a committee of volunteers but has also relied on the support of many of the local residents who have been involved with making sure the shop has been fitted out to a high standard, and has opened on time and on budget. Helen added: “We have received support from over 50 volunteers, both organisations and individuals, who have given their time, money and expertise to our project. Our youngest volunteer is just eight years old which demonstrates the involvement our community has shown! One of the original committee members, Jane Holmes, is now manager of the shop because of her outstanding customer service background, local knowledge and total commitment to the project.”

Helen continued: “People need to know that the shop at Strood Green offers much more than just newspapers, bread and milk- it is a ‘one-stop shop’ for residents and visitors, and I believe this to be the secret to our success. Of course we stock a wide-range of locally produced goods, but we also have services including internet access, a ‘Post Point’ service, tasting sessions and a delivery service for our housebound residents. The shop is also a café, and provides local residents with a place where they can have a coffee and a catch up. It is definitely the heart of the village.”

For further information:

• The Shop at Strood Green www.theshopatstroodgreen.co.uk
• The Esmee Fairbarin Foundation www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk
• The Plunkett Foundation www.plunkett.co.uk