The Co-operative Enterprise Hub
Jim Pettipher
Date
1.
The Co-operative Group
Top 50 business
£14bn turnover
5,300 outlets
120,000 employees
21 million customers per week
More than food …
• UK’s third largest pharmacy business
• UK’s No.1 independent travel business
• Europe’s No.1 funeral service provider
• UK’s largest farmer - an important USP
• UK’s No. 1 ethical bank – even better with Britannia
The Co-operative Enterprise Hub
• Background
• The Co-operative Group had a general grants programme which
awarded over £2m to about 60 organisations.
• It was difficult to measure the impact of the grants
Sector challenges
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Consistency of offer
Co-operative deserts
Relevant skills shortage
Regional idiosyncrasies (e.g. devolution)
Lack of accessible information
Profile and promotion
Costs of registration
Strategy
• £7.5 million over next three years
• A strong link between advice & training, grants and loans
• 500 co-ops supported to date
• Business plans, finance, legal and governance
Advice and Training
• To support new and existing co-operative enterprises to
remain sustainable
• Delivered on a region by region basis across the UK
• By default provides a valuable income stream to cooperative professionals and improves the chances of
developing a thriving co-operative sector
Continued…
• Advice & Training
• Co-operative Registrations
• Finance packages
• Loan Fund
Case studies
• Green Valley Grocer
• Local village shop closed and
local residents got together and
re-opened as a co-operative in
just 16 weeks
Continued
• Oxford Cycle Workshop
• Rescues and rebuilds abandoned
Bicycles, the hub enabled them to
develop a training centre.
2011
• Young co-operative enterprise
• Developing a national standards, training and
development programme
• £1 million over three years to support renewable
energy projects