About this site
About cooperatives.org.uk
We are an independent, privately‑run information website that explains how to start and run a cooperative in the UK — and helps founders find the right professional help when they need it.
What we do
UK cooperative law is genuinely useful but not always easy to navigate. Depending on what you are building, you might register a co‑operative society (a registered society under the Co‑operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014) with the FCA, or set up a Community Interest Company (CIC), a company limited by guarantee, or a limited liability partnership (LLP) at Companies House. Each route has different rules on ownership, asset locks, governance and tax.
Our mission is simple: make those choices understandable in plain English, and connect founders with advisers, solicitors, accountants and formation agents who can take them the rest of the way. We do this through practical guides, side‑by‑side comparisons and a vetted directory.
- Step‑by‑step explainers, like how to start a cooperative and what a cooperative actually is.
- Structure‑specific guides for worker, housing and community co‑ops.
- A comparison tool to weigh legal forms against each other, and a guide to funding a cooperative.
- An adviser directory to find help near you.
Who this site is for
We write for people at the start of the journey — and the people who support them:
- Founders and steering groups deciding whether a co‑op is the right model and which legal form fits.
- Existing groups — community businesses, tenant associations, freelancer collectives — exploring incorporation or conversion.
- Workers considering an employee or worker‑owned buyout.
- Advisers and professionals who want a clear, neutral reference to point clients toward.
If that sounds like you, the guides hub is the best place to begin.
How we make money
We believe in being open about this. cooperatives.org.uk is funded entirely by commercial activity rather than membership fees or public money, and we disclose it plainly:
- Display advertising — clearly labelled ad placements on some pages.
- Affiliate partnerships — where we link to certain tools or services and you sign up, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
- Paid directory listings — advisers and service providers can pay to be listed or featured in our directory. Paid placements are marked as such.
Our editorial stance
Everything here is general information, written to be accurate for the UK and reviewed periodically. It is not a substitute for professional legal, financial or tax advice, and it is not advice on which structure to adopt for your specific situation. Rules, fees and thresholds change, so before you act we strongly recommend confirming the details with the relevant official source — typically the FCA register for societies, Companies House for companies, HMRC for tax, and a qualified solicitor or accountant for your particular case — and, where appropriate, the recognised co‑operative membership and support bodies.
We link to official and authoritative sources generically rather than implying any partnership with them. If you spot something that has gone out of date or looks wrong, we want to hear about it — see our disclaimer and privacy pages for more on how we operate and handle your data.
In short: independent, transparent about how we earn, and squarely on the side of people trying to build something cooperative. We just want you to know exactly who you are reading — and who we are not.