Award Recipients

OurCoop is the UK’s largest independent co-operative society, owned by more than one million members and run by 13,000 colleagues serving communities nationwide. The society trades nationally, while staying rooted in the places it serves. OurCoop’s footprint spans regions including Gloucestershire, Cheshire, Lancashire and Essex, holding to the co-operative values that have shaped it for generations.

Its family of businesses reaches into everyday life across food, travel, funeral care, early years and utilities, with almost 500 FoodCoop stores, over 70 TravelCoop branches, more than 150 FuneralCoop locations and upwards of 40 Little Pioneers nurseries. Each one is owned by its members.

OurCoop received a King’s Award for Enterprise in recognition of its work promoting social mobility. This includes Fairer Futures and Fairer Access to Work, which provide meaningful employment opportunities and confidence-building for individuals facing barriers such as disability, social anxiety, homelessness or displacement. OurCoop is also a founding partner of Bright Future Co-op, which helps survivors of modern slavery rebuild their lives through pathways into employment. Building on this foundation, OurCoop will continue investing in partnerships that open doors and change lives for members, colleagues and communities alike.