At Cotton Court, “Do Business – Better” is about people.
We’re rooted in Lancashire and proud to play an active role in the community around us.
We have built a unique Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to reflect this attitude. We want our name to be synonymous with strong core values and unswerving integrity. Corporate Social Responsibility is becoming increasingly important to customers and consumers, we have a vision of working together to improve the standard of life in their local communities and boost the economy, without sacrificing their social, ethical and environmental standards.
To mark the 150 year anniversary of Barnardo’s, Robert and his team designed and delivered an innovative campaign to get 150 Lancashire companies to pledge their support to the charity. The hugely successful campaign encouraged businesses to pledge not only financially, but by offering work placements, mentoring, expertise, services in kind, and much more. We more than doubled the initial target of 150 businesses, and their efforts were rewarded with an invitation to Buckingham Palace to join the other friends of Barnardo’s at the Royal Garden Party.
As a thriving business community ourselves, we understand the importance of community. Below are just some of the organisations and programmes we are involved with,
In March 2026, our team raised £600, contributing to an incredible £54,000 raised overall. The event brought together individuals and businesses across Preston, all sleeping out for one night to raise awareness and vital funds to tackle homelessness in the city.
Our annual Barnardo’s Christmas Gift Appeal enters its 14th year in 2026. Each year, we bring together local businesses, customers and the wider community to collect gifts for children and young people supported by Barnardo’s across Lancashire, helping ensure they have something to open on Christmas Day.
Each year, we host a Macmillan Coffee Morning at Cotton Court, with our team, customers and local businesses baking, donating and joining us for coffee and cake. It’s a chance to catch up while raising funds to help Macmillan support people living with cancer.
We support the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal each year by collecting donations at Cotton Court. Our team, customers and visitors can pick up a poppy and contribute towards support for serving personnel, veterans and their families.
We’ve signed the Lancashire Skills Pledge to support skills development and opportunities across Preston and Lancashire. Through work experience placements, apprenticeships and live university projects, we help young people gain practical experience and connect with employers and training providers as they take their next steps into work.
Our catering partner, The Mill at St Catherine’s Hospice, is a local social enterprise. By choosing them to cater for meetings, training and events at Cotton Court, we help support the hospice’s work while providing fresh, locally prepared food for our customers.
The Foxton Centre has been supporting people across Preston for decades, providing a safe place, practical help and opportunities. Having attended the centre himself as a teenager, Cotton Court CEO Rob Binns now serves as a trustee, helping to shape the charity’s future. Cotton Court is also a proud Friend of Foxton, supporting the charity and the important work it does in our local community.
As a member of Lancashire Partnership Against Crime (LANPAC), Cotton Court is helping to support initiatives that make Lancashire a safer place to live, work and do business. Through the partnership, we work alongside Lancashire Constabulary, local businesses and community organisations to support crime prevention projects, create opportunities for young people and make a positive difference across the county.
Numerous free business support programmes operate from the centre, including an initiative whereby complimentary use of the desk space is offered to a high growth local business each year. Cotton Court offers free workshops and seminars for our clients, featuring experts from different sectors who will provide advice that encompasses the core essentials for business strategy and entrepreneurship. The business centre also facilitates formal and informal mentoring sessions for new businesses, with proven business experts, offering their advice and guidance.
