A community interest company (CIC) is a new type of company introduced by the United Kingdom government in 2005. It is designed to encourage social entrepreneurship. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Social enterprise. ...
In British company law, a company limited by guarantee is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality.
A guarantee company does not have a share capital, but has members who are guarantors instead of shareholders.
Common uses of guarantee companies include clubs, membership organisations (including students' unions, sports associations (such as the PGA European Tour), workers' co-operatives, other social enterprises, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and charities (such as Oxfam).
A communityinterestcompany which is a company limited by guarantee without a share capital must include in its memorandum or articles the provisions prescribed by Schedule 1.
A relevant company may not distribute assets to its members by way of the redemption or purchase of the company's own shares, unless the amount to be paid by the company in respect of any such share does not exceed the paid up value of the share.
A company satisfies the communityinterest test if a reasonable person might consider that its activities are being carried on for the benefit of the community, and "community" for these purposes includes a section of the community.