Community Shares Unit

Parklife parody launches Altrincham Town Hall community share offer Local residents can now become part-owners of the historic building.

This is a spectacular way to launch a new Community Share Offer, well done to Oyez Arts in #Altrincham with their Parklife themed launch video!
altrincham.todaynews.co.uk/news/2026/02...
@cooperativesuk.bsky.social @goodfinanceuk.bsky.social

Lovely to see we've been shortlisted for the Social Investment Award at the SEYH awards for our work with Bramley Bath's share offer which attracted over 500 community investors!
@bettersocietycapital.com @crowdfunder.bsky.social @access-si.bsky.social

@crowdfunder.bsky.social @cooperativesuk.bsky.social @plunkettuk.bsky.social @locality.org.uk @musicvenuetrust.bsky.social

New share offer from Sister Midnight to renovate
& fit out their new venue. Complete with the Standard Mark.

They are aiming to raise at least £75k, & have match funding from our Energy Efficiency Sharematch fund & @musicvenueprop.bsky.social
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/sistermidn...

-We will pause new Expressions of Interest for development grants on 27 March 2026.
-Applications for development grants will need to be submitted before 1 April 2026.
-Applications for match investment will continue beyond April 2026.

New - Community Shares Booster Fund development grant deadlines and upcoming pause to applications. Read more here:
www.uk.coop/support-your...

Advice for your co-op - Unlock our contact package - get in touch with our expert advisors for advice on governance, HR, membership and finance. Co-operatives UK Photo of post-it notes on a desk

Fast, friendly and focused on co-operatives.

Need help navigating your governance, HR, finance or legal advice? Get peace of mind with support just a phone call or email away through our Contact Package.

Find out more: buff.ly/Z1hVVIa

#coops #advice #business

Resource - Directors' toolkit - A comprehensive toolkit of resources for inducting directors onto a co-operative board. With an image of a computer. Co-operatives UK

Want a smoother, more confident director induction?

Our directors toolkit provides a set of ready-to-use guides and templates to help induct new members onto your board.

Take a look: buff.ly/OeCY2N3 ⬅️

#coops #directors #toolkit

Pub Saving Award <p>The Pub Saving Awards recognises people that have come together to save a pub that would have otherwise been demolished or converted to another use. It aims to secure publicity for pub-saving campa...

🍺Community shares dominant in @camraofficial.bsky.social Pub Saving Awards.
🥳Congratulations to Hull Community Pub's New Clarence, The Golden Lion and the George
camra.org.uk/awards/pub-s...

Do you want to get involved with the government’s call for evidence on how we best support and grow the co-operative sector in the UK?

⏱️ There’s not long go until our online webinars to get our members’ input.

Bid to save Ponsanooth's historic last remaining pub hits major milestone The Save The Stag campaign announced that its community share offer has now raised almost £100,000 toward buying the historic Stag Hunt Inn.

'Bid to save Ponsanooth’s last pub reached a major milestone' as community share offer has now raised almost £100,000 toward buying the historic Stag Hunt Inn.
www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/2572986...

Mike captures the need for a local solution to local housing need.

Please join us & our 77 investors & donors who have raised £42,150 to give local people a community owned affordable rented home in Heptonstall. @comshares.bsky.social @todmordentweets.bsky.social #heptonstall @hebweb.bsky.social

A photograph from Co-op Congress 2025, taking in the full splendour of the historic Rochdale Town Hall.

Whoop whoop!
Co-op Congress 2025 has been shortlisted by the Trade Associations Forum for 'Event of the Year'.
What did the President of the
@icacoop.bsky.social think of the event (and link to event recordings)? See the thread 👇

'A historic year for co-operation' read @rosemarley.bsky.social reflections on a busy 2025 inc growing co-operatives on the ground through community shares and community ownership, with new support in 2026 from @esmeefairbairn.bsky.social
www.uk.coop/blog/histori...

The communities seeking to cash in on wind turbine ownership New Scottish government proposals will give local groups a head start when renewable energy projects on public land come up for new leases.

Its not necessarily going to be easy but it could be a gamechanger for some communities www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... @democraticfinance.bsky.social @dtascotland.bsky.social

Share scheme for 'hugely underused' Birmingham community centre Kings Heath community centre is one of 11 being disposed of by the city council due to budget cuts.

Kings Heath Community Centre and their share offer is featured on the BBC website.

Over 300 people so far have stepped forward and invested to save the future of the centre, see more here:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

& on @crowdfunder.bsky.social here: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/kings-heat...

£2,000 donation received today! Moving us closer to turning Stuart's house into a community owned affordable rented secure home for people age 35 or under.

Join our 67 investors & invest (2% return) or donate.
caldervalleyclt.org.uk/northfield-s...

#heptonstall @todmordentweets.bsky.social

🍻Good to see @goodfinanceuk.bsky.social cover The Punch Bowl Inn in North Yorkshire and their community share offer to save the pub, including a little investment from our Booster Fund, a lovely positive story.
£312,000 raised from 360 investors.
Read more below⏬

Check our our Linktree for quick links to all the community shares resources you might need!

linktr.ee/comshares

Villagers rally to save shop and chapel in Cheriton Fitzpaine Villagers raise more than £100,000 to save the shop and Methodist chapel in Cheriton Fitzpaine.

The village where a third of people invested in their community shop!

Community shares & Cheriton Fitzpaine in the BBC
bbc.co.uk/news/article...

"it's absolutely fabulous.. No shop, no village."

👏 Call for evidence: Our time is now. Last week, the Chancellor announced a once-in-a-generation consultation on #coops growth. We're inviting members to shape our sector's response – to include the needs and aspirations of co‑operatives large and small, in every sector... 🧵👇

🍻Community shares offer helps reclaim the New Clarence Pub in #Hull.
🫂A rare urban community pub, brought into community hands and now with 440 investor members!
www.uk.coop/case-studies...

Huge congratulations to @musicvenueprop.bsky.social with #OwnOurVenues raising a huge £1.5m to save even more grass roots music venues, with 1,300+ new investor members including @cooperativesuk.bsky.social!

@coopnews.bsky.social @rosemarley.bsky.social

Private care providers in three English regions make £250m in three years More than third of profits analysed went to firms owned by private equity or based in tax havens, research finds

£250m in profits
Private equity payouts
Care workers on poverty pay

The care system isn't broken. It’s been hollowed out - turned into a commodity that extracts from people, not for them.

There is another way: buff.ly/kakIcfA

#Coops #CareCrisis #WednesdayWisdom

See above -
@ethexuk.bsky.social
@crowdfunder.bsky.social
@plunkettuk.bsky.social
@cooperativesuk.bsky.social
@locality.org.uk
@goodfinanceuk.bsky.social
@coopfinance.bsky.social
@coopnews.bsky.social
@access-si.bsky.social
@esmeefairbairn.bsky.social
@powertochange.org.uk

Get inspired by communities raising their own investment! We publish all new community share offers with our Standard Mark accreditation online and on instagram.

🕸️ www.uk.coop/share-offers
📸 www.instagram.com/comshares

Are you a young person passionate about community, collaboration and creating change? 🌍

Join our Community Calls - a monthly online meet-up bringing together young people from across the UK who share co-operative values. 📣

1/3

⏰ Less than 3 weeks until Practitioners Forum, Manchester, 6 November. Our biggest training and development day for co-operatives is packed with insight and learning focused on HR, finance and assurance, membership, governance and communications – plus lots of networking! Join us 👉 www.uk.coop/pf

📃We now publish details of all community share offers with our Standard Mark online here:

uk.coop/share-offers

✅This is our gold standard awarded to community share offers based on an independent assessment against agreed good practice criteria.

YouTube video by Co-operatives UK Co-operatives: Owned by our members | Co-operatives UK

🎬 A new film for you! Co-operatives: Owned by our Members showcases the values, diversity and impact of co-operatives across the UK – and beyond. It's been created in the #IYC2025 to help increase understanding of #coops 👉 youtu.be/9jddNpXI-Lw
🧵👇