A
community interest company (CIC) is a new type of
company introduced by the
United Kingdom government 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 are intended to be easy to set up, with all the flexibility and certainty of the company form, but with some special features to ensure they are working for the benefit of the community.