News Archive

Celebrating ICOF 50th birthday – looking back at our loans – Small Axe
As we head towards the end of our fiftieth year, our retrospective series is taking a turn towards tech. Back in 2016, we supported Small Axe, an innovative international creative agency, to expand and strengthen its co-operative structure. The finance we provided was used to implement an action plan of co-operative training and development, with […]

Fifty years of friendship and finance – meet Margaret Trotter
To celebrate our fiftieth birthday, we’ve been talking to people who we’ve worked with over the first fifty years. Today we speak to Margaret Trotter, Director of Finance at Four Corners, a film and photography charity based in East London. “In 2007, we took over the freehold of our building. We raised £1million to extend […]

Fifty years of friendship and finance – meet Kevin Blowe
As we head towards the end of our fiftieth year, we’re interviewing some of our more recent borrowers. Today we’re talking to Kevin Blowe, one of the founding members of Clapton Community Football Club. Kevin was heavily involved in negotiating the purchase of the Old Spotted Dog ground in 2020. “We were in the process of trying to negotiate a […]

Celebrating ICOF 50th birthday – looking back at our loans – The Crown Inn, South Moreton
Today, The Crown Inn is an award winning, community owned, traditional country pub in South Moreton, Oxfordshire, and we are proud to have been part of their story. In 2015, the pub had been bought by a developer. The village had been without a shop or a village hall for years, and residents feared they […]

Community Land Trust secures investment for people powered land ownership initiative
A land trust rooted in activism with a bold mission statement to acquire and steward property on behalf of the local community has secured vital funding for their latest property procurement. Stokes Croft Land Trust (SCLT) is a grassroots institution governed and run by local people for the long-term acquisition and stewarding of community assets […]

Fifty years of friendship and finance – meet Clare Horrell
In our series of interviews with people we’ve worked with over the last fifty years, today we speak to Claire Horrell, one of the executive directors of the Real Farming Trust (RFT). “I joined RFT in 2015 to run a project called Just Growth. It was a funding program for agro-ecological businesses, and a partnership project […]

Celebrating ICOF 50th birthday – looking back at our loans – Winterbourne Bassett Pub
Community pubs remain a strong area of activity for us. The benefits to the community are frequently far greater than a place for a pint, and in many cases, community pubs are the only places for people to get together. In 2018, we supported The Winterbourne Bassett Community Pub Society near Swindon, with specialist advice […]

Fifty years of friendship and finance – meet Kevin Lloyd-Evans
Today in our series meeting friends from the first fifty years of ICOF, we speak to Kevin Lloyd-Evans. Kevin joined us in 2022 and is our Lending and Relationships Manager I first came across ICOF in 2015. ICOF provided back-office support to Big Issue Invest where I started in social investment. There was an excellent […]

Celebrating ICOF 50th birthday – looking back at our loans – Drive Housing Co-op
Back in 2011, we were pleased to support The Drive Housing Co-op as they purchased property in Walthamstow – our first loan to a housing co-op in many years. The co-op aimed to provide a home for ten people, aged between 30 and 68, with a shared interest in co-operation, sustainability and gardening. The plan […]
Ten years of The Globe in Newcastle
We are delighted to share that a music co-op we’ve worked with in the past is reaching a fantastic milestone next year. Newcastle’s award-winning independent music venue, The Globe, on the western edge of the city centre, will be celebrating its tenth anniversary of community-ownership with the 10 YEARS A CO-OP festival on 26-30 April 2024. In […]