Co-operative membership surges to a '¨five-year high
A record 17.5million people are members of the UK's co-operatives, an increase of 2.3m in the past five years, a report has revealed.
The sector’s 7,000 independent co-operative businesses are worth £34billion a year, and account for 223,000 jobs.
The increase stems from the rise in the number of people joining high street retailers and credit unions and new community-owned organisations across the country.
Ed Mayo, secretary general of Co-operatives UK, said: “The last five years have been tough for the economy as a whole, yet we have seen strong performance from the sector.”