As we bid farewell to 2025, Plunkett acknowledges all the corporate partners who have supported our work with community businesses over the year.
Collaboration is crucial in the community business sector, and Plunkett couldn’t do all it does to support and empower communities across the UK without its corporate friends.
In 2025, with help from partners, we’ve been able to:
- Support more than 28 groups to open their community-owned business and begin trading for the benefit of local people
- Provide over 2,500 hours of dedicated expert support, ensuring community business can remain viable for the long-term for their communities
- Assist communities to employ 5,000 people and offer 20,000 volunteer positions.
A team from our partners, Webmart, lending practical support to The Abingdon Arms, Beckley, Oxfordshire in September 2025
Attendees of the Hospitality Roundtable in October 2025
As rural communities are increasingly overlooked, community ownership is being seen as ‘the best form of business’ for rural areas and, as such, demand on our services continues to grow year on year.
All of our partners’ support has been invaluable – by both bolstering our core business service and enabling us to host award ceremonies, report launches, fundraising events, and more.
In this blog, we highlight some of the events that took place this year thanks to our partners, and extend our thanks to every organisation that has supported us!
Rural Community Business Awards
In July, we celebrated the spirit of community-owned businesses at our Rural Community Business Awards, generously sponsored by Lands Improvement.
We highlighted the outstanding achievements of community businesses and the dedicated individuals behind them, with nine winners honoured from across the UK.
“I was struck by the meaningful impact each of you is making. You’re creating new communities, transforming villages and building places of belonging. The connection, support and development that you bring to the places you live, in my view, is nothing short of extraordinary.”
Kathryn Turner, Planning Director, Lands Improvement
This was made possible thanks to the individual award sponsors:
James Alcock, Plunkett’s Chief Executive; James Westhead, Head of Engagement at Better Society Capital; Tristan Robinson, Director of External Affairs and Social Value; and Caroline Voaden, MP for South Devon at the launch of our research report in November 2025
Support with Plunkett Reports
We were proud to partner with Thakeham, Better Society Capital, Access – The Foundation for Social Investment in hosting our ‘Community Ownership: A Better form of Business Report’ launch event in Parliament in November.
More than 70 politicians, partners and community business representatives came together to hear messages the report’s message of sector growth in the face of economic decline – but that success is being achieved despite, not because of, government support, and confidence levels are as low as we’ve known.
In May, we published our Impact Report, which highlighted the widespread, life-changing impact that Plunkett makes to the sector, and how we influence community businesses to have local impact through five measurable themes.
Generously sponsored by Webmart, its Chief Executive Officer, Kelly O’Sullivan, said,
“By partnering with Plunkett we can make a meaningful difference to local communities across the UK, demonstrating how businesses and communities can collaborate to make lasting, positive change.”
It’s been an exciting year for our strategic placemaking work as we have continued our fantastic close working relationship with Thakeham, and started significant new three-year partnerships with Barratt Redrow and Wates.
We are thankful to be working together with these organisations whose values and passion for community creation align with ours, and are excited by the possibilities of creating resilient, thriving and inclusive communities in new places in the future.
Across the year, thank you to various organisations who have committed their support through crucial funding and fundraising campaigns: Evenlode, SAGA, B4 Network (hosts of Raise25), and Hawco and Marstair (who have raised money through cellar cooler sales).
Thanks also to Post Office, Thakeham and Wendling Beck – our hosts for November’s wonderful Gala Dinner with Auction – and to Diageo, whose continued support for the community hospitality sector is invaluable as we strengthen our focus in this area over the months ahead
It’s been two years now since we initiated the Co-op Retail Societies Network – a collaboration that funds, shares knowledge, and strengthens the rural community business sector.
We are grateful for the ongoing support of its members, and look forward to progressing and developing the partnership further. Thank you – Central Co-operative, Co-op Group, Southern Co-operative, Radstock Co-operative, Midcounties Co-operative and Co-ops UK.
Our Head of Community Business, Mary Boullin, with representatives from Hawco at The Auctioneers Arms in Caverswall in October 2025
Guests at the Gala Dinner in November 2025
