Community Interest Companies

Introduction

The community interest company is a new legal form for UK social enterprise. It is one of a series of new legal forms arising in Europe specifically for social enterprise, although many social enterprise still use traditional nonprofit or other legal forms that allow trading.

Definition

The community interest company (CIC) is a nonprofit-distributing social enterprise providing benefit to a community. Such enterprises currently operate in areas such as childcare, social housing, leisure, and community transport. The CIC is a new variant of existing forms of UK company, incorporating either as a private company limited by guarantee (CLG), or a private company limited by shares (CLS), or a public limited company. The defining characteristics of the CIC are intended to make it particularly suitable for community-based social enterprise – those that wish to work for community benefit within the relative freedom of the noncharitable company form, but with a clear commitment to...