Scottish roll-out for Enterprise Hub

Dozens of member-owned enterprises in Scotland are set to benefit after the Co-operative Group’s Enterprise Hub was launched north of the border.

The announcement in Glasgow that the scheme — a £7.5 million investment in the UK-wide sector by the Group — will also now apply in Scotland was welcomed by Martin Meteyard of Co-operative Business Consultants, a lead delivery partner for the Hub outside England and Wales.

Said Mr Meteyard: “The Hub is an exciting development and will provide the specific advice needed to support the development of sustainable co-operative enterprises in Scotland, reinforcing the fabric of our communities and contributing to a more balanced economy.

“We are particularly pleased to be partnering with existing providers whose services the Hub will complement — Co-operative Development Scotland and the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society.”

The Hub aims to support ‘a co-operative a day’ in the UK throughout 2011 as the business model enjoys a renaissance from a public increasingly concerned for environment, ethical trading and sustainability.

Co-operative Group Chief Executive Peter Marks commented: “We are seeing more and more people setting-up, running and growing member-owned enterprises as consumers take ownership into their own hands and have a say in the running of businesses and services that meet the demands of local communities 

“The co-operative business model is again seen as a modern, effective and relevant approach to business and has an exciting part to play in fostering future enterprise.”

The Co-operative Enterprise Hub operates through a central website with a network of local co-operative development experts providing dedicated advice, training and guidance — including up to four days free business consultancy — on how to set up, run and grow sustainable co-operative enterprises.  

• For more information about the Hub; how to set up a co-operative enterprise and the support, advice and finance available to new and existing co-operative businesses, visit: www.co-operative.coop/enterprisehub

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