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Financing Community Ownership

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Funds secured for renovation of community club

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Harrogate residents have put in place enterprising and inspiring plans to develop their traditional working men’s club into a diverse and inclusive community asset bringing local people together.

 A five-minute walk from Harrogate town centre, High Harrogate Working Men’s Club has been a regular haunt for locals since 1889. A member of the CIU and registered as a Co-operative Society since 2019, the club has been a focal point for the community evolving from having a singular role of providing an affordable social space to being an asset for the benefit of the community.

Securing a loan from Co-operative & Community Finance has meant the club can proceed with its ambitious plans to fully restore and renovate the space on the ground floor and the exterior of the building’s frontage. Working with a local developer the club will convert and extend the first and second floors into accommodation to form 6 new apartments.

Currently undergoing the process of migrating into a Community Benefit Society (CBS) to better represent the broader offers the business provides to the local community, the club intends rejuvenate facilities for the use of local clubs such as Judo, Pilates, Meditation and other indoor sporting activities. The modernised function room will also enable bookings for events, parties and live music creating revenue for the club as well as providing an accessible hub for the community.

Creating a new website and utilising social media pages to create a strong online presence, the newly named ‘High Harrogate Bar and Lounge’ will display the business’s revamped facilities, events and social role within the community not only to attract new customers but to further embed the club into the heart of the community.

Plans for the renovation are proving popular with locals and at the last AGM around 80 members attended unanimously expressing their support for the proposals. Kevin Lloyd-Evans, Lending and Relationship Manager at Co-operative & Community Finance said: “We are delighted to be lending again to a Working Men’s Club. Being able to respond to access to finance challenges is paramount to our work. We support membership organisations which are democratically controlled and collectively owned. This is a brilliant start as we now look to support other Working Men’s Clubs across the country.”

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Community Shares Booster relaunches, and hits £200m milestone

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We’re really pleased to share the announcement that the Community Shares Booster Fund has relaunched this week in England with new investment from Power to Change.

And not only that, the Community Shares market has hit an amazing milestone of £200m raised through Community Shares. Fantastic news!

We are incredibly proud to be involved in the Community Shares Booster Fund which supports new and existing community businesses in England that are at all stages of a community share issue. Support is available through development grants, matched equity up to £25k, and where relevant specialist business development support is available.

Whether you are at the earliest of early stages of exploring if it’s the right choice, through to planning a community share issue,  being ready to launch, or in exceptional cases, recently launched – the Fund can help.

Paperwork and info has been updated – have a look at the new fund guidance and a new application process

Not sure whether to apply, or if it’s right for you? There’s a webinar coming up on the 8th June – book your place here to ask any and all questions.

Booster Fund is only for groups in England. Click here for support for community shares in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 

Your pub here

Could YOUR Community pub be the face of our new support programme?

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Help us promote our new programme of support for Community Owned Pubs!

We are excited to be preparing a new programme of support for Community Owned Pubs and we need YOUR pub to be the face of it. (Watch this space!)

We need (at least) five images of diverse groups of people in Community pubs – diverse ages, ethnicities, sexes and abilities, and we’d love to showcase the diverse activities Community pubs offer too.

 

Can you help us show off the brilliance of the sector?

Send us your pictures by Tuesday the 23rd of November and YOUR PUB could be the face of the campaign!
TECHNICAL INFO: We need ‘hi resolution’ images so it would be really helpful if you could send images that are:

  • In JPEG format
  • at least 72dpi
  • no smaller than 720px in width
  • 300KB or LARGER in file size

With huge thanks in advance!

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Community Ownership Fund

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Co-operative and Community Finance (CCF) welcome the launch of the Governments UK wide Community Ownership Fund (COF). CCF has long been a supporter of communities taking ownership and control of the assets people need to access for everyday things and services they value in their communities.

Over the past 48 years CCF have helped finance hundreds of local communities to take control of buildings and venues of all shapes and sizes, including libraries, church halls, music venues, football grounds and many more. Helping communities take ownership of community shops and pubs like the recent purchase of the Lock Inn, Norfolk, has been a particular cornerstone of our business. Through longstanding partnerships in the Community Business sector with the Plunkett Foundation, Power to Change, MHCLG, Co-ops UK ,and others, we consider ourselves experts in the market.

Business Development Manager Tim Coomer said of the fund launch. “This fund comes at a really important time. The impact of Covid has been devastating on so many people and places, but one positive to come out of all this is how communities across the UK have been galvanised into action. Communities across the UK now hold a real purpose, a will to seize new opportunities and rebuild in a better way. By taking democratic ownership of places they need and hold dear, and that are in danger of being lost forever, people really can take back control. This isn’t just about saving venues for prosperity or saving failing businesses, it’s about using these buildings as the foundations of building stronger local communities and maintaining access to important local services.” 

For communities considering applying to the Community Ownership Fund, CCF can provide flexible loan finance of between £10k to £150k, helping to raise the 50% match required by the Community Ownership Fund. We can also help broker deals with other lending partners for projects over £300k. We offer flexible terms with loans repayable from 2 to 20 years, offer competitive rates of interest, provide ongoing support and never ask for personal guarantees.  For more about our terms and conditions and eligibility criteria visit or fill in our Register of Interest form here.

 

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Happy International Day of Co-operatives!

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Today is the 27th International Day of Cooperatives recognised by the United Nations and the 99th International Cooperative Day.

Cooperation is a human value. It’s easy to be scared as we (hopefully) come out of Covid – there’s been a lot to be scared about and for some, fear can mean turning inward.

We’ve loved seeing how co-ops and their members, and volunteer-led mutual aid groups, have turned outwards and looked to see who they can help, and how, as Covid has affected so much of our lives since March 2020. In 2021, we’re celebrating what unites us, rather than divides us as we edge towards the future. Hope, community, the desire to rebuild better, together.

Our Covid Stories showcase some of the most amazing stories of resilience and co-operation by our members and clients. Who doesn’t love the idea of Zoom wine tastings and radio kit being ferried around people’s homes so that volunteers can still broadcast to community groups?

We celebrate co-operation every day of the year. We hope the 1ooth International Cooperative Day next year has Covid to look back on, and another 100 years of co-operation and community to look forward to.

 

CoopFortnight

Be the change you want to see in the world

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Do you want to be part of the shift towards more co-operative, democratic business?

Why not join us, this Co-op Fortnight?

Here at Co-operative and Community Finance, we are the lender for social purpose. We exist to help people take control of their economic lives and create social benefit.

We exclusively serve the co-operative and social enterprise sector, and for almost fifty years we have supported hundreds of businesses ranging from small community‑run enterprises to large award‑winning organisations.

Through the provision of accessible finance we have helped to create and preserve thousands of jobs within the social economy and supported the set up of many new and innovative co-operatives, employee buyouts, and community enterprises.

Since our inception, we have lent over £15m, and through our management of standalone funds, including the Co-op Loan Fund, we have lent over £25m to hundreds of employee-owned businesses, worker co-ops and community businesses of all shapes, sizes, and sectors.

Millions of people are members of a co-op. They, like us, are being the change they want to see in the world – building a better future. Do you want to, too? Join us.

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The results are in – and they’re fantastic!

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Thank you to everyone who took part in our Annual Survey! We’re delighted to say that the results are in and they make for enjoyable reading after what’s been a difficult year all round.

This year we sent out our survey with sister company the Co-op Loan Fund and received our highest ever number of responses. From these, 73% of respondents rated their overall experience of Co-operative and Community Finance as ‘Very Good’ and 23% selected ‘Good’ giving us an impressive TripAdvisor style score of 4.7 out of 5.

And nearly 70% were confident in saying they would be Very Likely or Likely to use our services again in future.

But numbers are one thing; we are always thrilled to read personal comments and these are delightful.

‘As far as I am concerned your service is as good as it can get.’

‘I can’t offer any suggestions to improve it.’

‘Been very helpful and stayed in touch during Covid-19 crisis.’

‘You do an amazing job with the small, dedicated team who are so dedicated to co-op development and support.’

It’s a genuine pleasure to work with organisations building a better future. Thanks to all who responded and who work with us today, have done before, and will do in future. And happy reading to the lucky – anonymous – respondent who was the winner of our Co-operative Bookstore voucher!

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Working in partnership – with the Co-op Foundation

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Most people know Co-op and Community Finance as the lender for social purpose, providing loan finance to co-ops, employee-owned and community-owned businesses for nearly 50 years. But that’s not all we do!

We also provide a comprehensive range of fund management services to organisations that share our values. We provide tailored loan management, back office, consultancy and project work to meet individual needs that save time and money and help partners meet their objectives and maximise impact. One such organisation is The Co-op Foundation; in the Summer of 2017, we won a competitive tender to support them in designing and delivering their Community Spaces interest-free loans fund which ran until 2020.

 The Co-op Foundation is the Co-op’s charity. It helps people challenge inequality and co-operate for change, so they can share a fairer future.    

 Its interest-free loans programme was launched to help community enterprises increase their trading activity so they could reduce their reliance on grants and become more financially sustainable. This, in turn, would enable them to improve community spaces longer-term. Making the loans interest-free made them accessible for organisations who may not have considered repayable finance before. For the Co-op Foundation, making loans rather than grants meant that the funding could be recycled, supporting our own financial sustainability. 

Over the two years to 2020, we helped the Foundation design its community spaces loans fund, its application and appraisal processes, and then went on to support them in assessing over 60 applications resulting in more than £2.1 million awarded in interest-free loans and grants UK wide, helping community spaces all over the UK build their trading activities and become more financially sustainable. Spaces supported included a community-run lido in Cornwall, a village hall in the Scottish Hebrides and a co-operative farm in Northern Ireland. Grangetown United, a community centre in the north east of England, received £80,000 of investment to help turn a derelict building into a vibrant hub for local people. Watch their story here.

This year, as more of the Foundation’s portfolio began to pay back their loans, following a repayment holiday, the Foundation approached Co-op and Community Finance (CCF) to manage the ‘back office’. Effectively CCF handle the financial administration and practicalities of the loan portfolio such as collecting payments, dealing with changes to terms, dealing with missed payments, rescheduling the profile of a loan, providing statements, etc… For the foundation, outsourcing this element of administration means they can get on with helping more communities.

Ella Smyth, Funding and Partnerships Manager said: 

“Over the past four years, we’ve built a really positive relationship with Co-op and Community Finance. Their expertise in lending to co-operatives and social enterprise helped us make our interest-free loans for Community Spaces fund the best it could be.”

“We’re pleased to be entering into a new phase of our partnership. Their financial administration management of our Community Spaces loans fund will free up our time so we can focus on supporting partners throughout the lifetime of their fund, ultimately allowing them to use their loans in the best way to help communities thrive. ”

Subscribe to the Co-op Foundation blog to find out first when support is next available

Over the last 48 years we’ve developed highly effective systems of financial management and control which we can offer to other lenders, public bodies and charitable foundations. Using our services will almost certainly save time and money and avoid reinventing the wheel.

Our clients include Big Issue Invest, Co-op Loan Fund, Radical Routes, Co-op Foundation and the Ministry for Housing Communities & Local Government. We also manage funds that have been donated to us for a specific purpose.

Could we help you this way? For more information visit our Services page

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Community secures keys to The Locks Inn

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Residents of the Waveney Valley on the borders of Norfolk and Suffolk rallied together at impressive speed despite the restrictions of a global pandemic to purchase and renovate iconic riverside pub The Locks Inn.

The community benefit society that now owns the popular ex-mill and lock keeper’s cottage turned public house at Geldeston raised over £600,000 from an incredible 1,400 shareholders in just three months.

As well as through word of mouth in the local community, the campaign garnered enthusiastic support on social media with the pub’s first Facebook post being shared over 1,600 times, reaching over 100,000 people and gathering 355 comments of support leading to shareholders and donations coming from as far afield as Australia and Canada. The pub with local funding has worked with the local parish church of Beccles to purchase unwanted pews to help with additional seating keeping in line with the original furniture and keeping local.

Committee Member Christine Pinsent said: “The response from the share issue has been overwhelming and we have been inundated with volunteers due to fantastic memories local residents have of the pub.”

The group also received support from the More Than A Pub programme, which provides free advice and webinars, bursaries, grants and loans to communities seeking to buy their local, as well as those who are already trading. The programme is funded by Power to Change and is delivered by Plunkett Foundation working in partnership with Co-operative & Community Finance and the Key Fund.

Refurbishments are underway and members intend to use the More Than A Pub loan from Co-operative & Community Finance to advance two major projects in updating the sewerage system and access to the national grid. Christine Pinsent said: “The support from the More Than A Pub programme has been fantastic and has really helped us through the process.”

The first community owned pub in the Waveney Valley will be accessible to all, promoting social inclusion and involving all ages, with everyone able to have a say in the running of the pub and all the activities that are delivered.

The idyllic large outdoor space by the river makes the pub a popular stop off point for people visiting by boat while also attracting walkers, cyclists and visitors from local camping sites. The committee will also resurrect music and local traditional events making the pub fully inclusive and financially viable for the long-term future.

The Locks Inn Community Pub will open its doors to the public on 13 May after having three days beforehand to welcome shareholders to their pub.

Ian Rothwell, Investment Manager of Co-operative & Community Finance, said: “This is a lovely pub in a beautiful setting which is appreciated by local people, walkers, cyclists and boaters. With regular events such as beer festivals, story nights, musical performances and sessions the Locks Inn is a destination pub and certainly one that I will visit again once restrictions are eased.”

Kindling Farm (Low Res)-3

Ever wanted to own a farm? You can with Kindling Trust!

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We have been so proud to work with Manchester based Veg Box People and we’re thrilled to hear that The Kindling Trust, the co-operative to which they are connected, is buying a community owned farm. Even more excitingly, you can be one of the owners!

Saturday 3rd April saw the launch of their campaign to attract community investors to buy a 120 acre farm on the outskirts of Manchester. The farm will use the pioneering practices of agroforestry, growing wildlife friendly fruit, veg, cereals and pulses to provide the citizens of Greater Manchester and beyond with fresh, organic produce.

Through this community share offer, which runs until the 3rd July, Kindling will establish a farm owned by you, its community. Helen Woodcock, one of the co-founders of Kindling Farm, says “Kindling Farm is about coming together to find practical solutions to the ecological crisis we are in. It is about hope, it is about social change and it is about creating a farming blueprint for our future, right here in the Northwest of England.”

Kindling Farm is already set up as a co-operative, and is founded on the same principles of all co- operatives: to be run by and for the local communities, with strong ethics and values around social benefit and cooperation. A large proportion of the money needed to buy this farm will be raised through this community share offer, so that communities can have a voice in the food system that directly affects them, whether by offering ways to improve their health and wellbeing, or by building greater resilience in the face of a changing climate.

Already they have begun establishing the agroforestry system for the farm – agroforestry is essentially combining agriculture with productive trees, creating a symbiotic relationship between the two. Thanks, in part, to a grant from the DEFRA Green Recovery Challenge, they were able to purchase 12,000 fruit and nut trees, half of which are destined for the farm itself, the other half of which will be donated to local community orchards.

If you would like to find out more about how to become a community investor, explore their website here email them at farm@kindling.org.uk, or head to Ethex.org.uk/invest/Kindling-Farm or pick up the phone and call them on 0161 818 8384.

Offer Closes: Saturday 3rd July 2021

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