News Archive
Closed library saved by the community
Hundreds of people from Greater Manchester have saved their local library from imminent closure by setting up a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Friends of Denton West End Library have successfully brought the library into community ownership after purchasing the building from the local authority with loans from Co-operative & Community Finance and the Co-operative Loan Fund. […]
Leading Scottish home care business set for further growth
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 from Co-operative & Community Finance, The Co-operative Loan Fund and Big Issue Invest have given Highland Home Carers, an employee-owned business with nearly 250 staff, the capacity and incentive to […]
Staff own the business and now the building
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 […]
Co-operative reclaims social housing
Members of a North West housing co-op have purchased their home after receiving a loan from us. Now they want to help others do the same. The four members of Castle Rockdove Housing Co-op have been living together for a number of years but formally set up as a co-operative two years ago, after being […]
Co-operative Living Freehold Society Purchases First Property
Nearly forgotten Victorian home saved by co-op A neglected Victorian home in Manchester has been bought by the Co-operative Living Freehold Society, with plans for a much-needed boost of environmental refurbishment. This is thanks to a loan from Co-operative & Community Finance who brokered a deal with other lenders. The property is a semi-detached three-storey house […]
Soft Touch brings new life to old building
Screen printing – one of the many creative projects for young people run by Soft Touch Arts. We’ve just released our largest loan to help an innovative community arts organisation to buy empty city centre premises from Leicester City Council. The long-established Soft Touch Arts plans to refurbish the former child care nursery building and […]
Community forges ahead with new village shop
A group of locals in Slindon, West Sussex, are restoring a 130-year old forge in the heart of their village, and turning it into a unique community owned shop after receiving a loan from us. Slindon – like many small villages – has lost the majority of its vital services in the last 10 years; […]
Print and pixels: Publishing co-op goes digital
A long standing publisher of radical and academic literature is moving forward with e-book development plans, after receiving a loan from us. Founded in 1977, Zed Books is one of our oldest and most well established borrowers. This is the fourth in a series of loans that Zed Books has drawn from the fund in […]
Co-op flush with finance!
A plumbing co-operative in Bristol is better equipped and set to expand after receiving financial assistance from us. Bristol Plumbing Co-operative was formed in 2011 and is one of only a handful of trade co-ops in the UK. It offers a range of plumbing and central heating services and also advises clients on environmentally friendly […]
Devon village shop opens in a burrow
The residents of a small village in West Devon are putting the finishing touches to their new community-owned shop – thought to be the first in the UK to be sited underground. The Burrow in Exbourne is a unique shop, post office and cafe buried in a sloping field in the centre of the village. […]