What is a Community Interest Company?

A Community Interest Company (CIC) is a regulated corporate structure designed for organisations that aim to deliver measurable public benefit while operating on a commercially sustainable basis.

A Community Interest Company (CIC) is a regulated corporate structure designed for organisations that aim to deliver measurable public benefit while operating on a commercially sustainable basis.

A Community Interest Company provides a clear governance framework that protects community purpose through the asset lock, ensures transparency through Regulator oversight, and enables organisations to trade, contract and fundraise while remaining mission aligned. CICs are commonly used by community groups, social enterprises, and neighbourhood-based initiatives that need a formal vehicle to deliver services, run events, manage projects, or secure grants.

The Community Interest Company has been established to deliver sustained social value, strengthen local resilience, and create a coherent community infrastructure that enables residents, stakeholders, and partner organisations to engage effectively in the long-term development of their area. The company’s primary purpose is to advance community wellbeing through inclusive programming, advocacy, accessible services, and place-based initiatives that respond to locally evidenced need.

Our mandate is anchored in a commitment to measurable public benefit. The organisation operates on a not-for-private-profit basis and reinvests all surpluses into community assets, social programmes, and local capacity-building. Through a structured governance framework, the CIC will act as a neutral, transparent, and accountable vehicle that channels resources, supports community cohesion, and drives local improvement initiatives.

The communities in which the CIC operates are characterised by rapid demographic change, structural inequalities, varying levels of socio-economic disadvantage, and significant gaps in local service provision. Residents frequently report limited access to safe public spaces, community programming, opportunities for civic participation, and support services that enable them to thrive.

At the same time, large-scale regeneration, infrastructure works, and changes to the built environment often occur without sufficient integration of local voices. Many households and micro-enterprises are not consistently engaged in decision-making processes and struggle to navigate complex planning, consultation and service-delivery systems.

The CIC responds to these conditions by positioning itself as a community anchor institution. It ensures residents have an informed, structured, and recognised mechanism for representation while simultaneously delivering operational programmes that strengthen neighbourhood life.

The mission of the CIC is to create a connected, resilient, and empowered community through targeted interventions, high-quality local services, and constructive engagement with public and private sector partners.

Our core objectives include:

Enhancing Community Wellbeing: Delivering programmes, support networks, and shared initiatives that elevate physical, social, and emotional wellbeing.

Strengthening Social Cohesion: Facilitating opportunities for participation, collective identity, and inclusive engagement between long-term residents, newer households, local workers, young people, and vulnerable groups.

Increasing Access to Services and Opportunities: Supporting residents to connect with training, employment pathways, digital resources, community facilities, and local benefit schemes.

Advocacy and Community Influence: Ensuring residents’ priorities are understood, articulated, and incorporated into the development, planning, and operational strategies of local authorities, developers, landowners, and service providers.

Sustainable Place-Making: Promoting high-quality public spaces, environmental stewardship, and local cultural assets that contribute to a safe, welcoming and sustainable neighbourhood.

The CIC will act as a recognised, credible intermediary between the community and external stakeholders. Our role is to ensure that residents are informed, consulted, and meaningfully represented in matters that affect their lives.

Core functions include:

• Facilitating structured dialogue with local authorities, planning bodies, developers, utilities, and service operators.

• Coordinating community input into regeneration and infrastructure projects.

• Producing evidence-based consultation responses and community briefs for stakeholders.

• Establishing working groups, thematic forums, and advisory panels that capture local insight.

• Advocating for investment, improved services, and infrastructure enhancements that meet documented community priorities.

This ensures residents have a clear, authoritative voice in ongoing change processes.