Northern Ireland’s Co-operative Economy in 2025: A Moment of Opportunity

The newly published Co-operative and Mutual Economy Report 2025 by Co-operatives UK highlights record-breaking growth across the UK’s co-operative sector. For Northern Ireland, this report is more than a set of statistics—it’s a call to recognise the resilience and potential of co-operatives as anchors of community wealth and democratic ownership.

Northern Ireland’s co-operative landscape is smaller than other regions, but it is deeply rooted in community needs, from food and farming to housing, energy, and worker co-ops. The 2025 report underscores several opportunities in energy transition, food and farming co-ops, worker co-ops

The Co-operative and Mutual Economy Report 2025 shows that co-operatives are “brilliant businesses”. For Northern Ireland, the challenge and opportunity lie in ensuring that this brilliance is recognised and nurtured.

Read the full report here Co-operative and Mutual Economy 2025.pdf