Important information.

Last updated: 12 June 2026

1. Risk warning

By becoming a Sponsorship or Investor Member, or by making a recurring or capital contribution to the Collecting Project, you are entering a community investment — not a savings account or a regulated investment product.

• Your capital is at risk. You may get back less than you put in, or nothing at all.
• Returns are not guaranteed. Any quoted projected returns are illustrative and may not be achieved.
• Limited liquidity. Member shares and capital contributions are typically held for a minimum term and cannot always be withdrawn on demand. Withdrawal is at the cooperative's discretion and subject to available funds and the rules of the society.
• Concentration risk. Funds are deployed into a defined set of housing and community projects; performance is correlated to UK housing, construction and energy markets.
• Operational risk. Project delays, cost overruns and resident-led governance decisions may affect outcomes.

You should only commit money you can afford to lose, and we recommend speaking to an independent financial adviser before making a significant contribution.

2. Regulatory status

TRAPEZIUM Community Investment intends to operate as a registered society (community benefit society / co-operative society) under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. Where the society offers withdrawable share capital to its members, that activity benefits from a specific statutory exemption from the financial promotion regime under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

What this means for you:

• The cooperative is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a deposit-taker, investment manager or investment adviser.
• The FCA does not oversee the merits, suitability or performance of the investment.
• Registration as a society does not imply endorsement of the investment by the FCA, the Prudential Regulation Authority, or any government body.

Note: full registration details, registered office and society number will be published here once the society is incorporated. Until then, this page describes the intended legal structure.

3. No financial advice

Nothing on this website — including the home page, the membership tiers, the forum, the marketplace, projected impact figures, or the contents of any newsletter — constitutes financial, tax, legal or investment advice. The website provides general information about a community investment initiative; it is not a personal recommendation. If you are unsure whether membership is right for you, please obtain independent advice from an FCA-authorised adviser.

4. Money & investor protection

Funds you contribute to TRAPEZIUM are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This is normal for community investment in registered societies and reflects the participatory, not-for-profit nature of the cooperative — but it means there is no statutory safety net if the cooperative is unable to repay you.

You also do not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for disputes about non-regulated activity. Our internal complaints procedure (see Section 9) is the route for raising concerns.

5. Donations, sponsorship & Gift Aid

One-off donations via this site or via Zeffy are gifts, not investments. You receive no financial return, you cannot reclaim them, and they confer no shareholder rights.

TRAPEZIUM is not currently a registered charity in the UK. As a result, Gift Aid is not available on donations to the cooperative at this time. If charitable status is obtained in future, this notice will be updated and Gift Aid will be offered prospectively only.

Corporate sponsorship arrangements are governed by a separate sponsorship agreement. Please contact us before contributing as a sponsor.

6. Membership terms (summary)

Full member rules are published in the society's Rulebook (available on request). Key points:

• One member, one vote. Regardless of tier or capital contributed, every member has equal voting rights at the General Assembly.
• Cancellation. You may cancel your membership at any time. Recurring fees stop at the end of the current period; refunds of past fees are not given.
• Cooling-off period. First-time members may withdraw within 14 days of joining and receive a full refund of fees paid in that period (excluding any capital share withdrawal, which follows the society rules).
• Minimum holding period. Investor Membership capital is held for a minimum of 36 months unless the board approves earlier withdrawal.
• Conduct. Forum, newsfeed and marketplace use is subject to a community code of conduct; abusive, fraudulent or harassing behaviour will result in suspension.

7. Privacy & data

We collect only what we need to run a membership cooperative: name, contact details, payment information (processed by our payment partners), and any content you post on the forum, newsfeed or marketplace.

• We do not sell personal data.
• We share data only with the payment processor, our regulator (where legally required), and any auditor appointed by the General Assembly.
• You have rights under the UK GDPR to access, correct, delete or port your data. Email privacy@trapezium.community to exercise them.
• Member records are retained for the lifetime of your membership plus 7 years as required by financial record-keeping rules.

8. Cookies

This site uses only the strictly-necessary cookies required to keep you logged in to member-only pages and to remember your accessibility preferences. We do not currently use advertising, tracking or analytics cookies that require consent.

9. Complaints procedure

If something is wrong, we want to fix it. Our internal complaints procedure:

1. Email complaints@trapezium.community with the details and any reference numbers.
2. We acknowledge within 5 working days and aim to resolve within 30 days.
3. If you are not satisfied, you may escalate to the elected Board, which will review at its next ordinary meeting.
4. If the matter remains unresolved, you may refer it to the Financial Conduct Authority (for matters within their remit) or pursue alternative dispute resolution via an independent mediator agreed by both parties.

Where the cooperative is found to be at fault, remedies may include a refund, fee credit, governance change, or — for serious breaches — referral to an independent investigator.

10. Changes to this notice

We may update this notice from time to time. Material changes — particularly to risk, regulatory status or fees — will be communicated to members in writing at least 30 days before they take effect, and the updated date at the top of this page will change.

Questions? Contact us →