Openfield Group, the British farmer-owned co-operative, has been named as one of the leading co-operatives in the UK. The National business is listed as the seventh largest on the Co-op Economy top ten co-ops, published by Co-operatives UK yesterday.

Openfield is proud to be Britain’s only national grain marketing and arable inputs co-operative. It is owned by 4,152 farmers and sells around four million tonnes of British grain every year to some of the biggest and most well-known food and drink brands in the UK.        

James Dallas, Openfield’s Chief Executive Officer said, “Having celebrated our 10^th anniversary last November, we are really pleased to be the UK’s seventh largest co-operative. We work hard to provide excellent service in an integrated and innovative supply chain, which makes our UK co-operative scale and position unique.”           

Co-ops are organisations owned and controlled by their members. They operate across all sectors, from community-owned pubs to multi-billion pound high street retailers and from the UK’s biggest farmer owned agriculture businesses to supporter-owned football clubs. The UK co-op economy is worth £37.7 billion – up £400m on the previous year - with 7,215 independent co-ops employing over 233,000 people and 13 million members who own and have a say in how the UK’s co-ops operate.

Ed Mayo, Co-operatives UK Secretary General, said: “The entire UK economy could learn a lot from co-operative businesses such as Openfield. More co-ops can help pave the way for an economy that doesn’t just serve the rich – those already at the top of the food chain.

“Co-ops are more equitable; wealth is shared amongst members and they enrich the communities in which they operate. Not only are they better for society, but they’ve also got a much greater chance of surviving the difficult first few years of a new business.”  

The 2019 report reveals that almost three out of four co-op start-ups (72%) are still flourishing after the difficult first five years of existence. In stark contrast, more than half of all new companies (57%) have ceased to exist before reaching that same milestone.

The Co-op Economy Report 2019 is compiled by Co-operatives UK, on behalf of the co-operative movement. It reveals turnover, membership and employee figures for thousands of co-op businesses. Read the full report: http://www.uk.coop/economy