Co-op Achieves Profit and Membership Growth Against External Headwinds

03 April 2025

  • Group revenue maintained, with significant increase in group profit and further reductions in group net debt.
  • Over £200m of new headwind and investment costs, with active choices to support members, colleagues, and communities with cost-of-living challenges.
  • Membership growth up 22% to 6.2 million (2023: 5.1 million) - on track to reach target of 8 million by 2030.

Financial Highlights

RNS1

  • Revenue maintained at £11.3 billion as we continued to right size the business and reflecting an additional 53rd week in the comparative year.
  • Underlying operating profit up by £34 million to £131 million (2023: £97 million).
  • Profit before tax up by £133 million to £161 million (2023: £28 million), driven by increased operating profits and improved Funeralcare plan investment returns.
  • Strong balance sheet maintained, with total liquidity of £820m, and net debt (excluding leases) down £27 million to £55 million – 94% reduction in the last 3 years.
  • £400m sustainability linked Revolving Credit Facility signed until 2029.
  • Long-term credit rating upgraded by Standard & Poors.
  • Improvement in Return On Capital Employed (ROCE) to 4.7% (2023: 3.4%), due to improved profit and disciplined capital management.

Debbie White, Chair of the Co-op, added:

“These results show that our strategy on delivering for our member owners whilst also delivering long term financial and operational progress is working. I’m particularly delighted we have increased our active membership by 22%.

“I’d also like to extend a thank you to each colleague for their focus and hard work in delivering these results on behalf of our members.

“We continue to focus on long term profitable growth, creating more value for all our member owners and the communities they live in.”

Commenting on the results, Shirine Khoury-Haq, Chief Executive of the Co-op, said:

“Our solid business performance alongside the progress we have made in right sizing the business and delivering against our new strategy, is enabling us to create more value for our member-owners every day.

“While broader economic challenges remain, our businesses are delivering strongly against the market and I’m proud that we continue to provide support to our colleagues, members, and their communities through the continued cost of living challenges they face.

“We look to the future with confidence, supported by a strong balance sheet and a clear and compelling business strategy and remain on track to reach our goal of 8 million Co-op member owners by 2030 with a focus on growing our Co-op for the future.”

Key Highlights Owned by you, right by you – delivering for our members

Growing our membership

  • Strong momentum growing active membership base by 22%, reaching 6.2 million-member owners (2023: 5.1million).
  • 66% increase in new members joining aged 25 and under, with average age of a member down by 2 years.
  • Naming rights sponsorship of new Co-op Live venue in Manchester, which opened in May 2024, directly resulting in 108,000 new member-owners joining.

Giving back to our members and communities

  • £92 million investment in member prices across food, insurance and legal.
  • £96 million invested into colleague pay to support with cost of living, maintaining Real Living Wage commitment.
  • 1.5 million members participated in our Winner Shares It All prize draw, supporting grass roots causes across the UK.
  • Our Academies Trust supported over 20,000 children across 38 schools across the North.
  • Raised £4 million with Barnardo’s to support young people across the UK.
  • Launched an International Co-operative Development Fund, supporting global communities rebuilding after war and fostering peace.
  • Launched our Future Farming Fund to help British farmers adopt sustainable farming practices, driving innovation and promoting productivity.
  • Continued growth in our Co-op Levy Share Scheme with over £9.5 million pledged this year, taking total to over £32 million, supporting over 2,500 apprentices.

Our members own our Co-op

  • Increased member engagement – with member participation up 60%, AGM member voting up 38%, and delivery of over 100 pop-up member engagement events.
  • Campaigned on issues our members asked us to champion, including effecting positive legislative changes on retail crime.

Outlook

  • Continued wider external pressures and volatility, with broader geopolitical issues, introduction of both extended producer responsibility (EPR) charges and higher National Insurance contributions, and cost inflation.
  • Whilst not immune from these pressures, our focus is on medium to long term profitability and our strong balance sheet enables us to face directly into these external headwinds, compete effectively in challenging markets, and pursue growth.
  • On track to grow our membership to 8 million by 2030 and create even more value for our member-owners.
  • Continue to drive growth across our businesses, remaining on track to open over 120 new stores across retail and franchise by the end of 2025.

Business Unit Performance & Highlights

Food Retail

RNS2

  • Food revenue up 1.9% at £7.4 billion - with strong multichannel sales across stores and online.
  • Food underlying operating profit increased by £28m to £201 million (2023: £173 million).
  • Market share up at 13.7% (2023: 13.1% - source Circana) – with growth ahead of the wider convenience market at 4.9% (up 3.3%, against wider market decline of 1.6%)*.
  • Online sales up 46% at £460 million (2023: £315million).
  • Tripled number of new own brand products launched.
  • Invested £88 million in lowering food prices for members, £82 million in our estate and £35 million in technology innovation.
  • Total of 1300 member prices and offers available over the year.
  • Member penetration in our Food stores up at 38% (2023: 33%).
  • Launched UK’s first retail media network in the convenience sector.

Business to Business (B2B)

RNS3

Wholesale

  • Wholesale revenue down 5.5% at £1.4 billion (2023: £1.5 billion).
  • Wholesale loss of (£1) million, (2023: £14 million profit) – due to continued wider challenging market conditions and our proactive support for Partners with a significant price investment across hundreds of products.
  • Held NISA market share at 11.9%, against a broader sector decline in volumes*.
  • Continue to see high levels of partners buying own brand at 92% (2023: 91%).

Franchise

  • Franchise revenue increased 31% to £74 million (2023: £56 million).
  • 20 new franchises opened including our first NHS and MoD sites as well as 7 new stores with EG On The Move.
  • Growth plans to double the number of new Franchise stores in 2025, with strong pipeline of launches due including further university and NHS sites.

FRTS (Federal Retail Trading Services)

  • Federal services revenue down 3.1% at £2.08 billion (2023: £2.14 billion).

Life Services

RNS4

Funeralcare

  • Revenue up 2.8% to £289 million (2023: £281 million), strong increase in pre-need plan sales with at need volumes down against backdrop of reduction in UK death rate of 2.8%.
  • Profit before tax rose to £103 million (2023: £13 million), resulting from an increase in funeral plan investment returns.
  • Underlying operating loss of £1 million (2023: £11 million loss).
  • Increase in at-need market share to 14.7% (2023: 14.6%).
  • Launch of new Direct Cremation Funeral plans, as well as improving technology capability to support sales and administration.
  • Client satisfaction scores further increased to 98.1% (2023: 97.0%).

Legal

  • Revenue up 23.5% to £84 million (2023: £68 million) and increased underlying operating profit at £27 million (2023: £21 million).
  • Significant increases in the number of case openings in estate planning (up 29%). Probate cases up 2.2%*, despite decrease in death rate of 2.8%.
  • Introduced new technology, with successful investment in AI in probate, enabling clients’ cases to be resolved more quickly.
  • Maintained excellent Trustpilot scores, reflecting commitment to customer excellence.

Insurance

  • Revenue down 3.4% at £28 million (2023: £29 million), and profitability up at £15 million (2023: £14million).
  • Decreased sales across motor (down 23%) and home (down 13%), with continued challenges and consumer switching in these markets.
  • Increases in policy sales with travel up 118%, life up 37%, and pet up 5%.
  • Broadened product range with the addition of renters insurance product.
  • Introduced member prices on all our core insurance products, and new way of joining as a member-owner when buying travel insurance online.
  • Awarded gold at the UK Customer Experience Awards.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

*On a 52-week basis.

Media Enquiries

Co-op

Russ Brady, 07880 784 442, russ.brady@coop.co.uk

Cat Turner, 07834 090 783, catherine.turner@coop.co.uk

Citigate Dewe Rogerson

Angharad Couch, 07507 643 004, angharad.couch@cdrconsultancy.com

Lucy Gibbs, 07957 596 729, lucy.gibbs@cdrconsultancy.com

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