Readers' forum : Shop dilemma

Our client is a registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 having originally been established as an industrial and provident society many years ago. It owns land from which the village shop and another trader operate in separate buildings. A flat is let to a third party but the longer-term intention is for this to be let to the next tenant of the shop because property is expensive in the village. The shops were established for the benefit of the community to sustain encourage facilitate or resuscitate village retail enterprises.

Improvements were carried out so there is a loan to be repaid. We can see that any interest that the organisation receives is liable to corporation tax because it is not a charity. It needs to make a profit from the letting to repay the loan but will this profit also...