Case studies

A much-loved pub and music venue, The Bell Inn on the edge of Bath city centre is owned by some 675 of its customers, fans and workers.  

After operating as a limited company for nearly two decades, Plymouth based architecture firm Studio Skein – formerly McCaren Design – became an employee ownership trust on 1 June 2020.

Following a successful crowdfunding campaign, Nudge Community Builders secured £206,750 with 165 investors in 67 days to bring former pub The Clipper back into use for community benefit.

Jubilee Pool – operated by Community Benefit Society Jubilee Pool Penzance – is one of the last remaining salt-water lidos in Europe. Opened in 1935, it’s a beautiful art deco facility on the Penzance…

Plymouth is a social enterprise city. It has more than 200 social and community business that employ some 8,000 people...

Nudge Community Builders in Plymouth is flying the flag for Co-op Fortnight (24 June to 7 July 2019) by leading a group of volunteers to mend and clean a much-loved community space at Union Corner the…

Bristol Wood Recycling Project collects tonnes of good quality timber from construction yards and other businesses around the city that would otherwise be wasted.

Offering an alternative to traditional gym culture, Bristol Co-operative Gym was set up as an inclusive, non-judgemental space free from assumptions about identity and appearance. It received support…

The Musicians’ Union (MU) estimate that between a quarter and a third of a 12,000 strong workforce of musical instrument teachers lost their jobs between 2009 and 2015.

The Bell’s future was in doubt in late 2012, when the previous owner put the property and business on the market. Two packed public meetings helped create the momentum which has now seen the pub…