What is CIC
A social enterprise is a business with primarily social objectives. They can take many legal forms, for example, charities or co-operatives. For the St Ives Corn Exchange we have chosen to form the enterprise as a community interest company (CIC).
This is a new type of company introduced in 2005 under the Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004, designed for social enterprises that want to use their profits and assets for the public good. CICs have the same controls as a normal company, but with some special features to ensure they are working for the benefit of the community.
Companies generally exist to make a profit, and those profits are distributed to the shareholders or owners. The CIC structure doesn’t have shareholders, and so the surpluses generated by the organisation are principally reinvested back into the enterprise for the good of the users and the town of St Ives. Similarly the assets of the CIC are dedicated to the purpose of running the building and are retained for the benefit of the community.
