Co-operative societies can now be awarded the Standard Mark

This new framework is specifically for use with co-operative societies that have a non-user member category, for share offers of a time-bound nature, i.e. raising a target amount of capital for a specific investment-ready project within a specified timescale.

We still anticipate most community share offers will be carried out by Community Benefit Societies and use our existing frameworks, but where societies want to create additional membership categories (e.g. for staff) and allow for dividends, there is now the option to use the multi-stakeholder co-operative society structure and still be awarded the Community Shares Standard Mark. 

Examples of these societies include Equal Care Co-op and Signalise, with Co-operatives UK providing model rules. Emma Back, Equal Care Co-op said "Attaining the Community Shares Standard Mark for our Back on Track offer was a big vote of confidence in our business plan and financial evaluations. It was really helpful to get the mark not simply to reassure prospective investors but to get a lot of value from 'another pair of eyes' looking over the detail and ensuring we were up to scratch on all counts."

There are some limits to this which should be explored with a practitioner or the Community Shares Unit. For instance, societies should have a 'common ownership' dissolution clause. This upholds the principles of community businesses having primarily public, social or community objectives.

Co-operation among co-operators

This was a great opportunity to pull together both the technical knowledge and the practical experiences of a range of stakeholders, such as the Community Shares Unit, advisors and practitioners Jim Brown, Dave Boyle, Hilary Sudbury and Andy Woodcock, before it was signed off by the Co-operative and Community Capital Committee. Thanks to everyone for their contribution to this development, to enable co-operatives to be awarded the Standard Mark.

About the Community Shares Standard Mark

The Community Shares Standard Mark is awarded to share offers that meet national standards of good practice. 

The Community Shares Standard Mark award and development framework encourages voluntary regulation to ensure community share offers are honest, transparent and simple to understand.

This Community Shares Standard Mark assessment framework can be used to develop the share offer and associated business plan and financial forecasts before enlisting a community shares practitioner to award the Standard Mark. 

For more information, see Standard Mark for Societies or contact Standards Manager [email protected]