Set up a co-operative

Every co‑operative in the world started from the same place: a group of like-minded people identified a business need or opportunity and came together to try and fulfil it.

Co-operatives can be formed to meet any need large or small: from the reform of public service delivery; to independent businesses joining together to increase their buying and selling power; or a community taking over their local post office, pub or shop.

If you are considering the co-operative option, you will need the right information and support to make your ideas a reality. This page provides some of the basic information you will need. Through our members and networks we can put you in touch with a range of support providers, from business advice to legal and finance, should you wish to take your ideas further.

Our Starting a Co-operative guide goes through the basic steps you’ll need to consider and covers the following areas:

• why set up a co-operative?
• what is a co-operative?
• types of co-operative
• areas of co-operative activity
• legal structures
• finance
• sources of advice

Our recently updated Simply Legal publication also covers all you need to know about legal forms and organisational types for co-operatives.

Get Support

We, and our members, have a wealth of experience in developing co operatives. If you have a general enquiry about starting a co-operative you can email us, or call us on 0161 246 2900 to discuss how we can help.

If you're looking for information about setting up a co-operative to provide public services - and becoming part of the "Big Society" - you can get help and advice from our website on setting up a public service co-operative, www.publicservices.uk.coop.

You might also want to find your local co-operative development organisation, or talk to the Co-operative Enterprise Hub for more advice and support.

If you’re new to co-operatives or would like to brush up on what it means to do business the co‑operative way, find out more in our About Co-operatives section.