Blog: New opportunities for co-operatives and mutuals

Introduction

Our government aims to double the number of co-operatives and mutuals by 2035 in order to boost local economies and increase social value. What does this mean for the VCFSE sector? Where are we up to?

There are big opportunities for the sector as our government strives to catch up with the rest of Europe. This blog will support you to get up to date with the changes and possibilities the Government’s ambition for co-operatives and mutuals provides, so we can take more control over our own lives.

What are co-operatives and mutuals?

There are many kinds of co-operatives including retail, transport, finance, food, worker, housing, consumer, farming, platform, education, energy and sports. They are created where people come together with a common vision and a shared responsibility for an activity. For example, developing communal heating, funding and using wind or solar power for groups of houses or joining together around food production and distribution.

Our VCFSE sector has an extensive history of creating and developing co-operative and mutual organisations, including building societies, community transport, housing associations, credit unions and worker co-operatives. There is also increasing interest and opportunities in locally controlled energy generation and conservation.

The current landscape

On 23 September 2025 the report from Co-ops UK, Co-operative and Mutual Economy, stated that there were over 10,000 co-ops and mutuals with 1.5 million people employed and a ‘record-breaking’ income of £179.2 billion.

Encouraging the growth of co-ops is being tackled in two ways. Firstly, by looking at what holds them back – legal structures, access to the right sort of finance, better knowledge. And secondly, by the new opportunities from our government’s actions on devolution providing more control by local people in areas such as energy and the climate emergency.

Opportunities

• The National Lottery Community Fund had lots of experience in Building Better Opportunities with the European Social Fund, and more recently it has funded Big Local, with support for actions in relatively small deprived areas. It carries out evaluations and learns. It is now putting up £87.5m, matched with an equivalent amount from the Dormant Assets Scheme in order to create the Community Wealth Fund. Each area (5,000 to 15,000 residents) will get between £1m and £2.5m over ten years with a focus on three changes – thriving places, stronger communities and putting people in control.
• Pride in Place gives £20m each for small areas across the UK over the next ten years. The latest announcement on 5 February brings this up to 380 different places.
• Local Power Plan from Great British Energy is the biggest ever public investment in community energy:
  • Communities across the country to own and control their own energy with up to £1 billion of new funding for local energy projects.
  • The biggest public investment in community energy in history will drive ownership revolution, putting wealth and power into the hands of communities.
  • Community energy projects will cut bills and create revenue for places of worship, social clubs, community centres – supporting government’s Pride in Place agenda to revive towns and cities.

Useful links

• Co‑operatives UK 
• Locality 
• Plunkett
• Association of British Credit Unions
• Cooperatives Europe
• EU Social Economy Gateway