Community Ownership Fund

The Community Ownership Fund (COF) provides capital grants to community organisations to help them buy or renovate important local assets that are at risk. The fund covers assets including community pubs, sports grounds and clubs, village shops, cinemas and theatres, music venues, parks and green spaces, and community centres. The key test is that the asset must be at genuine risk of closure, loss to the community, or redevelopment for a non-community purpose.

Grants range from £20,000 to £250,000 for most assets, with a higher cap of up to £1 million for larger sports or leisure facilities. The grant covers capital costs — purchase price, refurbishment, fit-out — not ongoing running costs. You must raise 50% match funding from community shares, donations, loans, or other eligible sources. The fund does not cover revenue costs such as staffing, utilities, or maintenance after acquisition.

The Community Ownership Fund has run in several rounds since 2021. Later rounds have refined eligibility criteria based on learning from earlier rounds. Always check the current prospectus on GOV.UK for the most up-to-date eligibility requirements and application process, as these have changed between rounds.

To be eligible, the applicant must be a community organisation with an asset lock — a legal requirement that assets can only be used for community benefit and cannot be sold for private profit. Suitable legal structures include Community Interest Companies (CICs), Development Trusts, co-operatives registered with the FCA, Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs), and other community-benefit societies.

The organisation must demonstrate genuine community support — typically evidenced through a community consultation, letters of support, signed surveys, or pledges in a community share offer. The fund assesses both the financial viability of the project (can the organisation sustain the asset after purchase?) and the level of community engagement (is there genuine local demand to save this asset?).

Setting up a new legal entity specifically for the purchase is common and acceptable. You will need to register with Companies House (for a CIC) or the FCA (for a co-operative or community benefit society) before you can submit a full application. Some organisations begin the process of incorporating a legal entity during the eligibility assessment stage.

The Community Ownership Fund application involves two stages: an eligibility assessment and a full business case. The eligibility assessment is a short online form establishing whether the asset and applicant meet the basic criteria. If eligible, you are invited to submit a full business case covering the asset details, the community need, your organisation's capacity, financial forecasts, and evidence of community support.

The most common reasons for rejection are insufficient evidence of community support, a weak financial model that does not demonstrate long-term viability, inadequate match funding, and an asset that does not clearly meet the "at risk" threshold. Investing time in community engagement activities — surveys, public meetings, a community share offer — before applying significantly strengthens an application.

Successful applicants receive grant funding in stages, typically with an initial payment followed by further tranches on completion of agreed milestones. The fund provides a grant agreement setting out conditions, reporting requirements, and a long-term community covenant on the asset ensuring it remains in community use. Specialist advisors including the Plunkett Foundation, Locality, and Power to Change provide free support to community groups considering applying.