According to its figures, 12.8 million people in Britain are members of a co-op and combined turnover of co-operatives was £33 billion in 2010, a 4.4 per cent yearly increase and a 21 per cent increase on pre-credit crunch years before 2008.
One person in five is now a member of a co-operative. These include organisations such as John Lewis and Suma Wholefoods.
Consumer-owned co-operative the Co-operative Group, whose businesses include food, financial services, pharmacy and funeral services enjoyed gross revenues of £14 billion.
Ed Mayo, secretary general of Co-operatives UK, said: “The evidence we have is of remarkably stable growth across a wide array of co-operative businesses. The values of shared ownership, shared wealth and democratic control appear to provide resilience in the face of economic adversities.
“Our co-operative economy is in good health – still further proof, to both the public and private sectors, of exactly how economic success can be pursued alongside social responsibility.”
