Phone Co-op snaps up North East telecoms business

The Phone Co-op has snapped up a County Durham business as part of its first move into the North East.

Avoco, which provided telecoms services for almost 300 business customers across more than 400 mainly North East sites, will now transfer to the Phone Co-op.

Avoco founder and chief executive, Martin Oswell, said: “We had established a strong business, but to serve our customers’ interests in the longer term we needed greater scale.

“The Phone Co-op will enable them to keep their telecoms costs down and enjoy high levels of service, whilst taking full advantage of a wider product portfolio.”

The deal means that the Phone Co-op now has its first base in the North East, and will be working with the local authorities, public sector organisations and small businesses that are current customers of Avoco.

Phone Co-op chief executive Vivian Woodell said: “We had been talking for quite a while. It’s very much the kind of business we like . Avoco is a very well-run business and they had good customers and we liked it. Martin himself will continue to work with us for a while.

“We have customers throughout the UK and Avoco had customers outside the North East. We don’t have any other presence in the North East.”

Former Avoco clients will receive a wider range of services following the deal on the back of the Phone Co-op’s greater buying power.

The Phone Co-op, which prides itself on its ethical and environmental principles, has more than 15,000 customers, many of which are co-operatives, charities and other not-for-profit organisations including Christian Aid and Amnesty International.

Mr Woodell said: “We intend to grow the Phone Co-op mostly through organic growth, but there are times it makes sense to take on another company. We are very excited about this transaction. We had established a strong business, but to serve our customers’ interests we needed greater scale."

www.thephone.coop

Elite celebrates 20 years of change

20 years since its founding in Rochdale, Elite Language Services’ work reflects changes in the global economy.

Elite is a co-operative that was formed in 1989 to provide specialist language services for businesses involved in international trade and negotiation. This October the business is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

The business was established in Rochdale, so a fair proportion of its work involves translating and interpreting for the manufacturing and textile industries.

Over the years, the co-operative has maintained its core specialist areas of translation, interpreting and tuition, but it has seen significant changes in its work that reflect wider changes in the global economy.

As John Cottam, a founding member and a director, explains, “During the last 10 years, we have started to work in a range of oriental and Eastern European languages, in addition to the European languages of French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, which was the focus originally. Today the co-operative is just as likely to be translating Mandarin and Polish.”

These days, the co-operative also works with some of Manchester’s most successful multilingual, international businesses – its premiership football clubs. John Cottam, a member of the co-operative, tutored Eric Cantona in English, and the co-operative currently provides translation services for some star players.

The members have also worked in different ways for Rochdale’s most significant export – the co-operative movement – providing interpreting services at the World Co-operative Day 2007.

www.elitelang.co.uk

Tenants First to continue ethnic minority service

Tenants First Housing Co-operative has received financial support to enable it to continue its pioneering Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) housing project for a third year.

The funding, which has been received from the Lintel Trust, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Council, will enable Tenants First Housing Co-operative to provide a specialist housing information and advice service for BAME communities in the North East of Scotland.

The project, led for Tenants First by Alison McLaughlin, aims to break down the barriers to housing that people from BAME communities may face. The service is provided to help people understand their housing options, including both social and private housing sectors.

Commenting on the continuation of the project, Alison McLaughlin commented: “I am delighted funding has been secured for year three of the project. I am looking forward to building on the contacts I have made, so that I can continue to work with what are diverse and enriching communities.

“The North East is increasingly becoming one of the most diverse and multicultural regions in Scotland to live in, but language barriers can often cause problems with finding accommodation.

“Naturally, one of the first things people want to do when they arrive in the North East is to find somewhere to stay. But that can be very difficult in a new and often daunting country, especially if you cannot speak English. It is for this reason that the project is so important.”

The ethnic minority housing project began more than three years ago with the production, by Tenants First, of a series of leaflets offering translation and interpretations about the co-operative in ten languages.

This early initiative has been followed up and Alison McLaughlin has since established strong links with various BAME communities, including Chinese, African and Muslim communities, through established community groups and cultural organisations.

Tenants First has more than 1,300 properties in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus and Glasgow.

www.tenantsfirst.com

OpenSpace co-operative documentary launch

OpenSpace is a co-operative of small organisations and freelancers working in the creative, environmental and social enterprise sectors.

On Wednesday 9th September 2009, OpenSpace and film maker Damien Mahoney are launching a series of short films documenting how they set up and established their co-operative co-working space.

There are 7 films in total, all providing inspiration, advice and ideas. They cover topics such as how to start a co-operative, why co-operate and how the co-operative works.

The films are available on You Tube here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/OpenSpaceCoop

http://www.openspace.coop/