There are various sorts of co-ops worker co-ops and customer co-ops. Basically it is about who owns a company. Ultimately I would like to see abolishing of property but in meantime if someone has to own a company a co-op is probably better.
If you want to convert a company to a employee ownership or set up a workers co-op then in Scotland the Co-operative Development Agency (previously the Employee Ownership Scotland) may help.
The Co-operative bank has a branch in Glasgow but one can get money out of link machines and pay in cheques at Post Office.
http://www.cooperativebank.co.uk
They have an internet brand that offer some of best banking deals to those well off enough to take them up:
A local supermarket co-op in Edinburgh is Scot Mid, I recommend people who live in it's area join them. It only costs a pound and means you own a bit of of them, see:
This is not to carpet bag them like building societies, which I am told is not as easy, as with them, but to support and direct community owned enterprises. One also gets some vouchers to use in the stores.
A separate Coop to Scotmid is the The Co-operative Group which the coop bank is part of. It now has food stores in Edinburgh (those which used to be Sommerfield and some Kwiksave before that) as well as many other parts of UK. You could see them as rivals to each other but they do co-operate and even stock some of same coop group products.
For co-ops on the net world wide see:
For a customer owned Phone and Internet provider use the:
For Energy try:
http://www.radicalroutes.org.uk/