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Published on the 2nd June 2025, the UK Government’s new Dormant Assets Scheme Strategy commits £87.5 million to good causes across England.

‘Dormant Assets’ are pots of money from accounts or financial products from – e.g. – abandoned bank accounts and unclaimed pensions. When all efforts to contact the owners of the funds have been exhausted, business who have chosen to participate in the scheme transfer the funds to Reclaim Fund Ltd (RFL) a not-for-profit public body owned by HM Treasury. That money is then made available for good causes through the The Dormant Assets Scheme. CCF, through some of its programmes and partnership funds, uses funds from Dormant assets, through The Access Foundation, to invest across the community co-operative, community business, charity and social enterprise sectors.

RFL retains enough cash to pay customers who claim at a later date, and then releases what remains above that to The National Lottery Community Fund (TNLCF), who is the named distributor of all dormant assets funding. Then, as gov.uk explains,  “TNLCF in turn apportions the money it receives from RFL between the 4 nations of the UK. While DCMS can provide broad policy directions to TNLCF for the English portion of funding, the Devolved Administrations and TNLCF are responsible for dormant assets funding in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.”

The £87.5million for social investment is just part of the story. Based on existing assets, estimates and forecasts, the government expects a total of £440 million to be available through the Scheme by 2028. They expect to distribute the funds to four key areas as below.

• £132.5 million for the provision of services, facilities or opportunities to meet the needs of young people
• £132.5 million for the development of individuals’ ability to manage their finances or the improvement of access to personal financial services
• £87.5 million to Access – The Foundation for Social Investment £12.5 million will reach organisations that support improved youth outcomes, and £12 million of scale-up funding for a Black and Ethnically Minoritised-led social investment fund, Pathway Fund
• £87.5 million for community wealth funds

Our friends and partners Access, and Better Society Capital (was Big Society Capital) work alongside Youth Futures Foundation, and Fair4All Finance to deliver on this strategy.

Access – who do not directly grant funds to organisations but instead funnel money through organisations like ours – are currently consulting on their investment Policy and application processes. If you are part of, or are connected to, the social investment market, the VCSE sector, they want to hear from you. They’re running two webinars, on the 18th and 25th June and the deadline for responses to the consultation is midday on Tuesday the 15th July.

Find out more about what Access are doing and how to have your say here.

Please update your records: we have changed our address.

As of May 14th 2025, the registered address for The Co-operative and Community Finance family of companies comprising

• ICOF Ltd
• ICO Fund plc
• ICOF Community Capital

and the companies we manage on behalf of The Co-operative Loan Fund and Community Shares ICOF Ltd has changed

FROM Futureleap, 1 – 3 Gloucester Road Bristol BS7 8AA

TO 195-197 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2SB 

Since Covid, we have not had a regular office base. We’ve been working from home and using Futureleap as a coworking space when we needed to get together. Their situation has changed – it’s now a Waitrose! – and so we have moved to the lovely Bristol Office Hub on Whiteladies Road.

This makes no difference to anything other than correspondence. If you wish to send us a physical letter, please only use

195-197 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2SB

With thanks!

Alain Demontoux, Operations and FCA Compliance Manager, and the team at ICOF

Members, friends, supporters and interested parties – please save the date now for our 2025 AGM

It will be held online at 1pm on Wednesday 18th June 2025.

More info and papers to follow.

At Co-operative and Community Finance (CCF), we believe that every voice matters.

Our commitment to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) is reflected in both our internal workplace culture and the communities we support. To deepen our understanding and drive meaningful change, we recently conducted surveys focusing on both our team members and the organisations we work with.

Gaining Insight: Listening to Our People and Partners

Internally, our EDI and Workplace Experience Survey revealed that our team generally feels a strong sense of belonging and values open dialogue. Both staff and board members expressed confidence in our fairness and progress on EDI, while also offering thoughtful suggestions to enhance communication and ensure every perspective is recognised. Meanwhile, a demographic survey provided deeper insights into the diversity within our community, highlighting the importance of refining our initiatives to meet evolving needs.

Externally, our survey of Borrowers gathered valuable insights into the composition of leadership teams, representation of lived experiences, and approaches to supporting disadvantaged communities and addressing climate change. Key takeaways include:

• Many organisations are actively promoting diversity within their leadership teams, with a notable emphasis on gender equality.
• Supporting disadvantaged communities remains a core focus, with Borrowers working to address social and economic barriers.
• Environmental sustainability is gaining attention, with some organisations taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint.

Moving Forward: Turning Insights into Action

Guided by this feedback, we are enhancing our surveys to capture a broader range of experiences and perspectives. Internally, we are standardising scales for clarity, expanding questions to be more inclusive, and ensuring that both staff and board members have tailored opportunities to share their insights. For Borrowers, we are refining our questions to gather more comprehensive data while respecting their time and privacy.

Our next steps include improving internal communication, expanding initiatives that foster a sense of belonging, and advocating for greater equity within the communities we serve. We extend our gratitude to everyone who participated in these surveys—your insights empower us to drive meaningful change.

Join us on this journey as we continue to build a future where diversity and inclusion are at the heart of everything we do.

You may be used to seeing photos of Business Development Manager Tim, and Lending and Relationship Manager Kevin out and about but there are two more people that make up the Co-op & Community Finance team. If you have a loan with us, you will certainly have dealt with them. We’re talking today about the duo behind the scenes, Alain Demontoux and Anne Wilks. 

This year marked a milestone for CCF, as we completed our first audit in over a decade with a new auditor. In line with good governance twe engaged  Third Sector Accountancy, and what can often be a challenging first audit couldn’t have gone more smoothly. We’re extremely proud to say that our auditors found no variances across 90% of the loan portfolio they tested – this is particularly satisfying given the multiple Bank of England interest rate changes seen in 2024. As Alain puts it, “We’ve basically had our homework marked – and we got triple As.”

The audit is an annual external verification of the profit loss and balance sheet and the finances and organisation. It gives comfort to the board that what financial officers, here Alain and Anne, have been doing over the previous 12 months, is accurate and correct. An audit looks at the way that the organisation has been treating items on the balance sheet and and on the profit loss, and ultimately, verifies financial statements as giving a true and fair view.

Our operations span five different legal entities, from a private limited company and a PLC to a community benefit society. It’s complex work, and it’s managed by a small but deeply experienced team. Between them, Alain and Anne have been running CCF’s back office for over 12 years. Their roles are complementary – Alain oversees governance, regulatory responsibilities and shareholder relations, while Anne focuses on loan portfolio operations and direct contact with borrowers. Some roles are shared – both Alain and Anne sit on the Credit Committee – while others are held individually, for example, Alain holds the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authority. Constant communication between them ensures nothing falls through the cracks.

Alain and Anne have worked closely together since before Covid and while they can no longer hand things across the desk to one another, they still get together, combining business with pleasure when the team comes together for in person meetings.

Together, the team looks after a loan book of around £4 million, covering more than 150 active loans. And while Tim and Kevin on the front line work with borrowers and partners to develop new opportunities, it’s the meticulous care of the finance and governance team that keeps the whole structure strong.

As we stride into our second half century of trading, and in the Year of Co-ops, we’re thrilled to have received such a positive audit. It’s a testament to the strength of our team, and the co-operative relationships within it. In coops, colleagues work together as friends.

At Co-operative and Community Finance, our annual Away Day is a valuable opportunity to reflect, collaborate, and strengthen our commitment to supporting the co-operative movement and advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within our organisation.

This year’s event focused on reinforcing our core values, identifying what drives success within our team, and recognising areas that may hinder progress, all within the context of fostering an inclusive and respectful workplace.

 Embracing Our Core Values

Our core values are the foundation of everything we do. They guide our interactions with each other, the communities we serve, and our approach to EDI:

• Cooperation: We believe in working together to achieve more than we could alone, valuing diverse perspectives and experiences.
• Respect: We appreciate the time, skills, and viewpoints of every team member, ensuring everyone feels valued and included.
• Trust: Openness and a willingness to listen are essential for building strong, inclusive relationships.
• Accountability: We take responsibility for our actions, ensuring transparency and fairness in our work.
• Fairness and Democracy: We strive to create an environment where everyone has an equal voice and opportunities.
• Commitment: We are dedicated to supporting the co-operative movement while promoting EDI principles in all that we do.

Recognising Inflators and Deflators

During our EDI session, we identified key behaviours and attitudes that foster inclusion and those that can create barriers: 

Inflators (Boost Inclusion and Team Dynamics)

• Teamwork, cooperation, and inclusivity
• Supporting and acknowledging diverse contributions
• Listening and respecting different viewpoints
• Learning from mistakes and providing thoughtful responses to challenges
• Clear, open communication that values every voice

Deflators (Undermine Inclusion and Success)

• Poor communication and closed minds
• Ignoring diverse contributions and not listening
• Hidden agendas and exclusionary behaviour
• Lack of preparation and transparency
• Silos, conflict, and misuse of power
• Status seeking and inconsistency 

At the heart of the co-operative movement is a commitment to equality, democracy, and mutual respect—principles that align closely with our EDI goals. By fostering an inclusive environment where diverse voices are heard and valued, we strengthen our ability to support co-operatives and communities across the UK. Our commitment to EDI not only enhances our internal culture but also ensures that we serve our stakeholders with empathy, fairness, and integrity.

Moving Forward Together

By integrating EDI principles into our core values and daily practices, we create a workplace where everyone can thrive. We are committed to continuous learning and growth, ensuring that our support for the co-operative sector reflects our dedication to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

We look forward to building on these insights as we continue our mission of providing supportive lending to co-operatives and communities across the UK, while championing equity, diversity, and inclusion in everything we do.

It’s hard to believe that two years ago, we were celebrating our fiftieth birthday. 

That milestone felt momentous, and yet here we are, with time still rolling, at the ripe old age of almost 52.

The Rochdale Pioneers seeded the co-operative movement and 181 years later the International Co-operative Alliance reports that 12% of the global population are members of co-ops.

In 1973 we became the first dedicated co-operative lender in the UK and rooted ourselves in the sector and continue that dedication, doing our bit to see a thriving, diverse and sustainable co-operative economy and build a better world. In the last 52 years we have lent over £25M, supporting hundreds of co-ops and community businesses to start and grow.

This year, we’re continuing our work of supporting co-ops of all shapes and sizes as they strive to make their workplaces, communities and the planet a better place. In a world that can often feel uncertain, it’s heartening to know that co-operatives continue to offer a steady, people-first path forward. And this year – 2025 — is the Year of Co-ops, a global celebration of the cooperative model and everything it stands for: shared ownership, community resilience, and long-term sustainability, right now, that feels like something to really hold onto.

We’re proud to have been at the forefront of co-operative investment and finance in the UK, and we hope that the much discussed ‘doubling the size of the sector’ both comes off, and has the social impact we know it can. To help us achieve that growth, this Summer 2025, we are planning to relaunch our ICOF Community Capital Community Shares investment fund, a chance for you to invest directly in the sector. More details will follow but if you want to be kept up-to-date with the investment opportunity please join our mailing list. 

Tim Coomer, CCF’s Business Development Manager said “It’s been said before, but this year really feels like a real opportunity for the co-op sector to lead the charge in creating real change in a broken extractive financial system. Co-ops can become the beacon in the darkness and we must harness support both domestically and internationally to galvanise the movement, create new co-ops, help the sector grow and be the fairer solution for communities everywhere.”

Here’s to the Year of Co-ops, and to every member, partner, and supporter , around the world, who believes in better.