{"id":759662,"date":"2026-09-04T11:44:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T11:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/759662\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T11:44:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T11:44:24","slug":"co-operatives-shine-in-uk-social-enterprise-awards-2026-shortlist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/759662\/","title":{"rendered":"Co-operatives shine in UK Social Enterprise Awards 2026 shortlist"},"content":{"rendered":"

The shortlist for the UK Social Enterprise Awards 2026<\/a> has been revealed, celebrating the efforts of social enterprise businesses across the country.<\/p>\n

This year, the awards are co\u2011produced by Social Enterprise UK and Co\u2011operatives UK, \u201crecognising the role co\u2011ops play in shaping a fairer, more inclusive economy\u201d. <\/p>\n

The winners, across 15 categories, will be announced at a ceremony on 12 November at New Century Hall, in the heart of Manchester\u2019s co\u2011operative quarter \u2013 the first time the Awards have taken place outside London.<\/p>\n

For the first time, a brand new award \u2013 Co\u2011op of the Year \u2013 shines a dedicated spotlight on the nation\u2019s leading co\u2011operative businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusinesses usually only make headlines when they\u2019ve been behaving badly or announcing huge profits,\u201d said Social Enterprise UK CEO Peter Holbrook, \u201cso every year it\u2019s a joy to celebrate those that are quietly getting on with the job of making a positive contribution to society.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe UK Social Enterprise Awards celebrate the organisations focused on making communities healthier, happier and more environmentally friendly. They\u2019re an inspiration to anyone looking for examples of ways to do business better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rose Marley, CEO of Co\u2011operatives UK, added: \u201cIt\u2019s brilliant to see so many outstanding co\u2011operatives on this year\u2019s shortlist, proof of the huge contribution member\u2011owned businesses make to communities right across the country.<\/p>\n

Related: Co-ops and CICs celebrated at Social Enterprise UK\u2019s Festival of Hope<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWith the new Co\u2011op of the Year Award, we\u2019re able to shine a spotlight on that impact like never before. And as we prepare to bring the Awards to Manchester\u2019s co\u2011operative quarter, the birthplace of the co\u2011operative movement, it feels only right that we\u2019re celebrating the businesses carrying that legacy forward today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The six co\u2011operatives shortlisted for the inaugural Co\u2011op of the Year award are:<\/p>\n

Signalise Co\u2011op<\/p>\n

Channel Islands Co\u2011op<\/p>\n

Emerge Recycling & Touch Wood<\/p>\n

Unicorn Grocery<\/p>\n

Fram Farmers<\/p>\n

Stretford Public Hall<\/p>\n

Co\u2011operatives also feature strongly across the wider shortlist:<\/p>\n

Unicorn Grocery \u2013 shortlisted for three awards: UK Social Enterprise of the Year, Co\u2011op of the Year and Consumer-Facing Social Enterprise of the Year<\/p>\n

OurCoop \u2013 shortlisted for two awards: International Impact Award and Social Enterprise Technology or Innovation of the Year<\/p>\n

Community Dental Services CIC \u2013 shortlisted for two awards: UK Social Enterprise of the Year and Public Services Social Enterprise of the Year<\/p>\n

Co\u2011op Group \u2013 shortlisted for the \u2018Buy Social\u2019 Market Builder Award<\/p>\n

Other co-operatives making the shortlist are The Hull Community Pub Society \/ The New Clarence (Ones to Watch) and Fair Tax Foundation (International Impact Award).<\/p>\n

See the full shortlist<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Cox, CEO of Channel Islands Co-op, said: \u201cWe are incredibly proud to have been shortlisted for Co-op of the Year. As a business owned by our members, this recognition belongs to our colleagues, members, local producers, partners and communities across Jersey and Guernsey who support us every day. <\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a co-operative means putting people, community and shared value at the centre of every decision we make. From returning value to members and supporting local causes, to investing in innovation and sustainability for the future, our focus has always been on creating long-term benefits for our islands. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo be recognised alongside so many inspiring co-operatives from across the UK is a tremendous honour, and we are delighted to be representing the Channel Islands on a national stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Debbie Clarke, co-operative member at Unicorn Grocery, said: \u201cBeing shortlisted across three categories is a brilliant 30th birthday gift for Unicorn. It shows how well such a simple proposition \u2013 nourishing food, honest prices and worker-ownership \u2013 \u00a0stands the test of time. We are so proud of how our business thrives, not despite our values, but because of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets for the UK Social Enterprise Awards 2026<\/a>\u00a0are on sale now, with members of Social Enterprise UK and Co\u2011operatives UK able to save nearly 50% compared to full-price tickets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The shortlist for the UK Social Enterprise Awards 2026 has been revealed, celebrating the efforts of social enterprise…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":759663,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[250876,120968,250877,250878,59,57,58,50,250879,250880,250881,250882,56,250883,54,55],"class_list":["post-759662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-channel-islands-co-op","tag-co-operatives-uk","tag-emerge-recycling-wood","tag-fram-farmers","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-signalise","tag-social-enterprise-uk","tag-social-enterprise-uk-awards","tag-stretford-public-hall","tag-uk","tag-unicorn-grocery","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=759662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/759663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}