Co-operatives UK

Co‑operatives UK is the voice for the UK’s thousands of independent co‑ops.

We support co‑ops to start up and thrive – join us to access expert advice, events and training. Find out what a co‑op actually is and how we can help.

Become a member Log in

Glad Rags is a co-operative selling pre-loved clothing and provides employment opportunities in the community

Featured content

Support for your co‑op

As the network for the UK's thousands of co-operative businesses, we provide support in HR, culture, governance, finance, marketing, membership strategy and co-operative development. Browse our extensive library of online resources, blogs and…

Benefits of membership

We exist to meet our member needs, we’ve been supporting organisations like yours for 150 years. Find out how to become a member.

Co-op Congress 2023

Content by Co-op Congress

Co-op Congress brings together those working to build a fairer economy to share ideas, get inspiration and take action. This year's event, themed Spirit of Co-operation, boasts a packed programme with dynamic speakers covering the topics that we…

Co-op Fortnight

Content by Co-op Fortnight

Co‑op Fortnight takes place between Monday 19 June and Sunday 2 July 2023.

National Youth Summit 2023

We are excited to announce that the National Youth Summit 2023 will be held at The Studio, Birmingham on Wednesday 5 July.

Guide to co-ops

Read our handy guide, which explains in simple terms what a co‑op is (and why they're so great).

Latest news

Member consultation – help decide our policy priorities

Member consultation: Help shape our policy priorities

Ahead of Co-op Congress and Co-op Fortnight, Co-operatives UK is urging members to feed into policy priorities as we look ahead to the next general election.

9 days ago

The National Youth Summit announced for 2023

The National Youth Summit will be held for the second year, this time taking place in Birmingham on Wednesday 5 July. It will bring together leaders, change-makers and creators to empower the younger…

1 month ago

The Co-operative Bank invests £400,000 with Co-operatives UK to further nurture ‘fair and ethical business’ in 2023

Content by Business support for co-ops

Renewed commitment to support partnership will see many more new and developing co‑ops receive expert guidance and advice to help them start‑up, grow and succeed.

1 month ago

Chance to star in a feature-length documentary on co-operatives

Co-operatives UK is creating a documentary designed to have global impact and co-operatives across the UK are invited to take part.

1 month ago

How many co-ops are there?

The UK’s 7,237 independent co-ops employ 250,128 people
Co-ops contribute £39.7 billion to the UK economy
There are nearly 14 million memberships of co-ops. The members own and have a say in how the nation's co-ops operate
Co-ops proved four times less likely to cease trading during 2020
The UK co-op sector grew by £1.1 billion in 2020, despite the pandemic

Find out more