LOVE LOCAL HUB COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY

What LOVE LOCAL HUB COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY does

Love Local Hub Community Interest Company (CIC) is a UK-registered social enterprise operating a single physical shared retail showroom inside Centre:MK, a top-10 UK shopping centre in Milton Keynes anchored by John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, and Next. The company rents designated shelf space to micro-businesses, local artists, and craftspeople for £12.50 + VAT per week, bundling the space with operational support services including restocking, weekly shelf photography, email sales notifications, a dedicated storage drawer, weekly sales reports, and biweekly payment processing within five working days. A 2% transaction processing fee is applied at the till, but no sales commission is charged, allowing vendors to retain 100% of product sales revenue.

The store currently hosts over 80-85 vendor businesses across crafts, handmade goods, and creative products, with vendors ranging from long-term tenants of four-plus years to newer entrants on rolling two-week contracts after an initial four-week commitment. The business model is community-led, with vendor acquisition driven by email outreach, Instagram and Facebook engagement, and a Vendor Information Pack, while customer traffic is generated through the high-footfall Centre:MK location, in-store maker demonstrations, and the company's own social media.

Love Local Hub operates strictly as a physical retail channel with no e-commerce storefront, no proprietary technology platform, and no digital sales infrastructure. As a Community Interest Company, it is structured with an asset lock to reinvest profits into the community mission rather than distribute them to shareholders. The company reports a 65% increase in store sales from January to April compared to the prior year and is privately held with no disclosed funding, M&A activity, or external investment.

Name

LOVE LOCAL HUB COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY

Legal name

Love Local Hub Community Interest Company

Website

https://lovelocalhub.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Love Local Hub is a UK Community Interest Company that operates a shared retail showroom inside Centre:MK in Milton Keynes, renting affordable shelf space to over 80 small businesses, makers, and artists and providing restocking, sales, and payment processing services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Multi-Vendor Retail Marketplace

NAICS

All Other General Merchandise Retailers (455219), General Rental Centers (5323)

SIC

Retail-Misc General Merchandise Stores (5399)

akta.pro primary industry

Hybrid Retail-Wholesale Membership Clubs (B2B2C) (CRAEADAD)

Keywords

• Multi-vendor retail
• Shelf space rental
• Small business marketplace
• Maker retail platform
• Pop-up retail store

Headquarters

HQ city

Milton Keynes

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Shelf Space Rental: Love Local Hub generates revenue by renting designated shelf space to small businesses, makers, and artists on a weekly basis. Vendors pay a fixed weekly fee to occupy shelf space in the high-footfall retail store located in Centre:MK, Milton Keynes. The company provides restocking, storage (drawer for extra stock), weekly shelf photos, sales notifications, and biweekly payments to vendors.
2. Transaction Processing Fee: A 2% fee is applied to each sales transaction processed through the till system to cover card processing charges. The company explicitly states it no longer charges sales commission, meaning vendors retain 100% of their product sales revenue after the 2% card processing fee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Love Local Hub operates a multi-vendor physical retail showroom inside Centre:MK (Milton Keynes) where small businesses, makers, and artists rent designated shelf space from £12.50 + VAT per week to showcase and sell their products to walk-in shoppers. The company bundles the shelf space with full vendor management services including daily restocking, weekly shelf photography, real-time sales notifications, dedicated storage drawers, and biweekly payment processing.

Product overview

Love Local Hub is a multi-award-winning Community Interest Company (CIC) operating a single retail platform for small businesses. The core offering is affordable shelf space rental at £12.50 + VAT per week in a high-footfall Centre:MK store, bundled with vendor management services including restocking, weekly photography, sales notifications, storage, and biweekly payment processing. The platform currently hosts over 80 small businesses and has demonstrated a 65% sales increase year-over-year. No additional products, modules, or separate service tiers are offered beyond this unified retail marketplace model.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Shelf Space Rental

Quantifiable outcome

• 65% increase in store sales from January to April compared to previous years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Centre:MKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLove Local Hub's retail store is located within Centre:MK shopping centre — a top 10 UK shopping destination with over 190 stores. The company describes itself as partnering with business owners and the community in Milton Keynes, operating in the heart of the shopping centre alongside major anchor tenants John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, and Next. This location partnership is fundamental to Love Local Hub's value proposition of providing small businesses access to a high-footfall retail environment.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Not On The High Street: UK online marketplace aggregating small businesses and makers selling giftable, home and craft products. Comparable because it serves the same UK maker/micro-business customer base as Love Local Hub, though delivered online rather than in a single physical store.
• Folksy: UK-based handmade goods marketplace focused on British designers and makers. Comparable vendor and buyer profile to Love Local Hub and overlaps directly on craft, handmade and gift categories, though operates as an online channel.
• Wolf & Badger: Multi-vendor boutiques in London (and New York) curating independent brands and makers across fashion, jewellery, home and gifts. Directly comparable as a curated multi-brand retail platform selling independent maker products to consumer footfall, with similar customer/vendor profiles.
• The British Craft House: Curated UK online marketplace for British crafters and small-batch makers. Highly comparable to Love Local Hub on target maker community, product mix (handmade, craft, gift) and emphasis on British small-business identity.

Broad incumbents

• Etsy: Global marketplace for handmade, vintage and craft goods. Overlaps heavily on Love Local Hub's vendor and buyer base but at vastly greater scale and online-only, with a broad portfolio beyond UK craft.
• Amazon Handmade: Amazon's dedicated handmade category allowing artisans to sell craft goods alongside Amazon's general retail. Competes for the same maker-vendor audience and end consumers but within a much larger incumbent e-commerce platform.

Others

• Faire: Wholesale marketplace connecting independent makers and brands with retailers globally. Comparable as a B2B channel helping small makers access retail distribution — a different delivery model but serves an overlapping maker-vendor base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/lovelocalhub
• Instagraminstagram.com/lovelocalhub
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-love-local-hub

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LOVE LOCAL HUB COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY