The Mutuals & Co-operatives Together partnership Group (Association of British Credit Unions, Association of Financial Mutuals, Building Societies Association, Co-operatives UK, The eoa) commissioned WPI Economics to carry out a research project to measure the growth of the cooperative and mutual sector in the UK.
Key findings:
- There are 9,500+ mutuals and co-operatives across the UK, representing 68.8 million memberships.
- Despite making up just 0.2% of UK businesses, the sector generates £35bn in direct gross value added, and £93bn when including indirect and induced contributions.
- Mutuals bring additional benefits such as greater productivity, resilience, fairer pay, community wealth, local economic impact, and progress towards decarbonisation and wellbeing goals.
Barriers to growth identified in the report:
- Difficulty accessing finance and capital
- Outdated legal and regulatory frameworks
- Lack of awareness among investors and funders
- Limited institutional support tailored to mutuals’ unique structures
Recommendations
- Targeted reforms to improve access to capital
- A fair share of enterprise finance and business support directed to mutuals
- Swift delivery of the Law Commission’s review of mutual law
- Creation of specialist investment institutions for the sector
- Support for mutual leaders through training and growth advice
For more information and to download a copy of the full report, click on the link below or visit the Building Societies Association website.
