CO-OP CULTURE

What CO-OP CULTURE does

Co-op Culture is a UK co-operative consortium delivering specialist advisory, training, and funded programme support to co-operatives, community businesses, and social enterprises. It is structured as a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales (Company No. 09649522), headquartered at Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, with service delivery across the United Kingdom. The consortium comprises four member-directors (Andy Woodcock, Nathan Brown, Mark Simmonds, Rhiannon Westphal) who collectively own and democratically control the entity, supplemented by a roster of associates brought in for specific expertise. Co-op Culture operates no proprietary technology platform; it is a relationship-based professional services consortium whose delivery asset is practitioner experience.

The core service portfolio covers the full lifecycle of co-operative and community enterprise development: feasibility studies, market and business planning, financial planning, community share offers, grant and loan finance advice, legal and organisational structure advice, governance audits, social impact measurement, and facilitated planning. Specialist verticals include Community Share Offers, Community Agriculture, Community Food Enterprise, Community Energy, Housing Co-operatives, Community Land Trusts, Co-operative Bakeries, Woodland Social Enterprise, and Transition Enterprises. Revenue flows from three streams: fee-charging direct consultancy, delivery as an approved provider on subsidised support programmes (Business Support for Co-ops; Community Shares Booster Fund), and training programme delivery, most notably the Barefoot Co-op Development programme. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed.

Go-to-market is sales-led with strong channel-partner and community-led dimensions: Co-op Culture is a certified member of Co-operatives UK and a member of Workers.coop, and an approved provider on multiple funded programmes. The Barefoot programme trained 107 practitioners across six runs between March 2020 and September 2023, two of whom established new support bodies (People Support Co-op, 241 Co-operators Limited), creating a distributed alumni referral network within the UK co-operative sector. Marketing is minimal and network-driven — primarily a Facebook page and direct outreach through published member contact details — with no evidence of paid acquisition.

Name

CO-OP CULTURE

Legal name

Co-op Culture

Website

https://culture.coop

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Co-op Culture is a UK co-operative consortium of four member-directors and a network of associates delivering specialist consultancy, training, and funded programme support to co-operatives, community businesses, and social enterprises across community finance, governance, housing, energy, and food sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hebden Bridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Fee-Charging Consultancy Services: Direct consultancy service delivering co-operative and community business support including feasibility studies, business planning, financial planning, governance audits, and training on all offered services.
2. Funded Support Programme Delivery: Approved provider on subsidised programmes such as Business Support for Co-ops (up to 6 days of expert support including peer mentoring), Community Shares Booster Fund (development grants of £2,000-£10,000, equity match £10,000-£100,000). Revenue derived from programme fees for delivering subsidised support services.
3. Training Programme Delivery: Co-op Culture delivers content for the Barefoot Co-op Development Training programme, now administered by Stir To Action. Training runs approximately every 6-9 months. Between March 2020 and September 2023, 107 practitioners trained across 6 runs.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Co-op Culture is a co-operative consortium that delivers business support, advisory and training services to co-operatives, community businesses and social enterprises across the UK. Its services span feasibility studies, business and financial planning, community share offer design, governance audits, legal structure advice, social impact measurement, and training programmes. The organisation operates through fee-charging direct consultancy and as an approved provider on subsidised support programmes such as Business Support for Co-ops and the Community Shares Booster Fund.

Product overview

Co-op Culture is a co-operative consortium offering a portfolio of interconnected services for co-operative and community enterprises. The core offerings include business consultancy (feasibility studies, business planning, governance audits) and community finance support (share offers, grant/loan advice). Training is delivered through two programmes: the Barefoot Co-op Development Training Programme (now managed by Stir To Action but content delivered by Co-op Culture), and Worker Co-op Training for Workers.coop federation members. Additionally, associate services provide specialized support including accountancy through Third Sector Accountancy. The organization specializes across community energy, housing co-operatives, community land trusts, community agriculture, food enterprises, bakeries, and woodland social enterprise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Co-operative Consultancy and Support Services
• Community Finance Support
• Barefoot Co-op Development Training Programme
• Worker Co-op Training
• Third Sector Accountancy Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 107 practitioners trained across 6 runs of the Barefoot programme (Mar 2020 - Sept 2023)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Stir To ActioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Management and administration of the Barefoot Co-op Development programme transferred to Stir To Action. Co-op Culture continues to deliver the training content. Joint collaboration on this practitioner development programme.
• Co-operatives UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing strategic partnership as approved provider on Business Support for Co-ops programme (continuation of The Hive). Co-op Culture is a certified member and delivers support to co-ops through Co-operatives UK's contact package. Also partnered on Barefoot programme as funder.
• The Co-operative BankminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginal partner with Co-operatives UK in The Hive programme which has been rebranded as Business Support for Co-ops. Co-op Culture is an approved provider on this programme.
• Workers.coopcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-op Culture is a member of the UK worker co-op federation and involved in delivering learning activities. Nathan Brown delivers worker co-op training through Workers.coop.
• Co-operative and Community Finance (CCF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Community Shares Booster Fund providing subscription underwriting (interest-free repayable loans for community investors) and loan finance to community businesses.
• The Ubele InitiativeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvided critical friendship and evaluation support for the Barefoot programme, helping assess impact and plan next steps.
• LocalityminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvided critical friendship and evaluation support for the Barefoot programme. Co-op Culture also refers clients to Locality for early-stage support.
• Plunkett FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvided critical friendship and evaluation support for the Barefoot programme. Co-op Culture also refers clients to Plunkett Foundation for early-stage rural community business support.
• 241 Co-operatorsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEstablished by Barefoot alumni. Now provides critical friendship support and evaluation input for the programme.
• Co-op FuturesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvided critical friendship and evaluation support for the Barefoot programme.
• The Co-operative CollegeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvided critical friendship and evaluation support for the Barefoot programme.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Locality: National membership network for community-led organisations, providing advice, training and resource support. Comparable in targeting community enterprises with development support and policy/funder relationships.
• The Co-operative College: UK education charity delivering co-operative learning, training and qualifications. Comparable in co-op training delivery and engagement with the same co-operative movement ecosystem.
• Stir To Action: Co-operative media and training organisation that now administers the Barefoot Co-op Development programme that Co-op Culture delivers content for. Overlap is direct in co-op practitioner training and sector publishing.
• Plunkett Foundation: UK charity supporting rural community businesses, including community-owned shops and co-ops. Comparable in delivering community business advisory, training and access to community finance, particularly in rural areas where Co-op Culture refers clients.
• Co-op Futures: UK cooperative development consultancy offering co-op formation advice, governance support and community shares work — directly comparable service mix and target customer base to Co-op Culture.

Emerging players

• Carbon Co-op: Manchester-based community energy co-operative, currently listed as an associate of Co-op Culture via Jonathan Atkinson. Partial overlap in community energy / community-led enterprise themes.

Broad incumbents

• Social Enterprise UK: National membership body for social enterprises providing advice, policy advocacy and programmes. Adjacent rather than direct: serves the broader social enterprise community of which Co-op Culture's clients are a subset.
• Co-operatives UK: UK representative body for co-operative enterprises that also runs development programmes (including Business Support for Co-ops where Co-op Culture is an approved provider). Wider mandate but overlapping customer base and programme footprint.

Others

• Co-operative and Community Finance: Co-operative lender providing loan finance and underwriting used in the Community Shares Booster Fund that Co-op Culture supports. Partner rather than competitor, but operates in the same community finance ecosystem.
• Power to Change Trust: Independent trust funding community businesses in England, including the Barefoot programme's pilot and Community Shares Booster Fund. A funder/advisor rather than peer, but ecosystem-relevant for understanding Co-op Culture's market context.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/coopsmark
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/co-op-culture

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

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 CO-OP CULTURE