Journal of Co-operative Studies 55(1), 84-93
The Lanica affair: An attempted takeover of a consumer co-operative society
| Open access |  | Editorial reviewed/Reprint article | Published online: Dec 2023 |
The Lanica affair: An attempted takeover of a consumer co-operative society.
Johnston Birchall
Journal of Co-operative Studies 55(1), 84-93
Orginally published in Journal of Co-operative Studies, 31(2), September 1998, 15-32
https://doi.org/10.61869/PASU1726
How to cite this paper: Birchall, J. (2022). The Lanica affair: An attempted takeover of a consumer co-operative society. Journal of Co-operative Studies, 55(1), 84-93. https://doi.org/10.61869/PASU1726 (Original work published 1998).
Abstract
Early in 1997 a series of events occurred which sent a seismic shock wave through the UK co‑operative sector, whose ripples reached throughout the co-operative ‘world’ and are still being felt today. We had got used to the idea of ‘demutualisation’ of the UK building society sector (which is now down to around 30 per cent of its former size) but the prospect of a hostile attempt to ‘deco‑operativise’ a consumer co-operative had been thought unlikely. It is the sort of event that, when it comes, leaves one wondering why one had been so complacent, and determined never again to take the existence of the co-operative form of business for granted. To paraphrase a well known saying, there is nothing so concentrates the mind than the prospect of one’s own (organisation’s) death. In this article, the story is told of how the takeover bid came about, how it was overcome, and where this leaves the UK co-operative sector. The subject is so controversial, and the memory of it so recent, that the article concentrates on providing an accurate account of what happened and when (though towards the end some more personal views are given about the implications of the bid for the co‑operative sector as a whole). It is important that we have as accurate and unbiased an account as possible, as an archive on which to build.
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