2.4 Benefits of a co‑op

Ownership matters. Giving people ownership of the businesses that they are closest to – whether they are workers, customers or suppliers – has multiple effects.

Benefits to the business

Shared ownership of a business:

• Gives people a stake, creating greater engagement, interest and concern for the long term interests of the business. This applies as much to customer or employee owners of large retail businesses as it does to local people, who together own valued local enterprises such as pubs or football clubs.
• Boosts productivity by making employees and suppliers more likely to work harder to support the business. Studies consistently show that the commitment ownership brings boosts productivity because people are invested, emotionally and financially, in the business.
• Sharing ownership harnesses innovation, by giving those who understand the business best a reason to contribute to its development. There has been a move towards participation across the business world, as companies try to harness the ideas of those closest to the frontline - the employees and customers. When these people are also the owners there is an incentive, and a reward, for contributions.

But while business ownership matters, people have a sense of powerlessness about the economy. In Britain, 58% of people say big businesses are out of control and 57% say they have no influence over the economy.

Co-operatives offer a solution. They give people control of the businesses they are closest to - whether they shop at them, work at them, or supply them. And they give people control over things that matter to them, in process boosting productivity, harnessing innovation and giving them a stake. That is the co-operative advantage.

Benefits to community

Co-operatives are often rooted in their local community, providing a service that the community otherwise would not have, providing employment to local people, maintaining wage levels and keeping money in the local economy.

Benefits to the UK economy

Co-operatives and mutuals are worth around £179.2bn to the UK economy, with more than 10,000 enterprises. Co-operatives UK publishes The Co-op Economy report annually. The 2025 report revealed:

• Together, co-operatives and mutuals employ over 1.5 million people, providing good, stable jobs
• Co-operative new-starts have an 82% survival rate after five years, compared to just 39% for UK businesses at large
• The gender pay gap in co-operatives is 7.5%, compared to the UK average of 12%
• Women lead 24% of the UK’s top 100 co-operatives, compared to just 9% of FTSE 100 companies
• Co-operatives are over four times more likely than the UK average to be Accredited Living Wage Employers