What is a Co-operative?
A business owned by its members.
A co-operative (co-op) is a different kind of business. Our Co-op is owned by individual members and other co-ops, not big investors, and our members get a chance to have a say in how we're run.
Profits mean members receive money, rewards and offers and a co-op can support its local community.
A world of co-ops
They’re everywhere. Big, small, medium. All over the globe, in every industry.
You can find out more about co-ops around the world at the International Co-operative Alliance.
Co-ops in the UK
This short video describes the impact of co-ops on the UK economy.
'Co-op in the UK' video transcript
[0:02] Co-ops are giving people a say over things that matter to them.
[0:06] There are seven thousand of them in the UK working right across the economy.
[0:14] They give customers a say over their shops. They help farmers get a good deal. They let people run sports clubs and leisure centres. They give employees control at work.
[0:26] And together they contribute 34 billion pounds to the UK economy.
[0:33] They’re owned by more than seventeen and a half million people.
[0:36] Co-ops are giving people a voice at work, in their communities, in the economy.
[0:43] What if more people had a stake? What if the UK’s dynamic co-operative sector is just the start of a new, more co-operative economy.
[0:52] Is now the time to stop asking, “what if?”