Generous Co-operative members give £3m profit-share to good causes
08 June 2011
Generous members of the Co-operative Group
Over two million members receiving a payment in the next few days have elected to give all, or part, of their share of the profits to charity, meaning that £3.2m will be distributed amongst local community groups across the UK.
Last year, the Group’s 5.8million members, who used their dividend card when shopping with the UK’s largest mutual business, earned a record total of £70.5m up from £50.4m the previous year and those who have accumulated at least £2 will be receiving a payout.
Members receive a cash payment based on the points they earn when they trade at any of the Group’s businesses, which include: The Co-operative Food; Travel; Pharmacy; Legal, Online Electrical as well as The Co-operative Bank and The Co-operative Insurance.
Based on the Group’s profits, the value of each point earned during 2010 is 2p. The payments will be paid in the form of vouchers or into a bank account.
Peter Marks, Group Chief Executive of The Co-operative Group, said: “It is only right that our members, who ultimately own and control the business, share in our success and thanks to their generosity we will make a real difference to many charities and local groups that are doing such great work in the thousands of communities we and they serve.
“Membership is fundamental to our business; it is the key to our co-operative difference, as without members we cease to be a co-operative.”
Additional Information:
At the end of 2010 the Co-operative Group had 5.8million members.
Each year the value of a membership point is determined by how much profit the Group makes. For 2010 payment the value of a point has been set at 2p. So, if a member earns 100 points they will receive £2.00.
Share of profits payment are paid to members every six months, usually in June and November. The payment in November is an interim payment.
The following table show how points are awarded across the Co-operative Group’s family of businesses in 2011.
| Business/service | Number of points awarded |
|---|---|
| Food, Pharmacy, Funeral and Online Stores | 1 point for every £1 spent |
| Travel and Legal Services (Wills) | 1 point for every £2 spent |
| Legal Services - conveyancing | 250 points |
| Prescription Collection Service / Prescription Collection and Delivery Service | 250 points |
| Motor dealerships | 1 point for every £5 spent |
| Petrol stations - Fuel | 1 point for every £10 spent |
| Funeralcase - funeral planning | 2,500 points for a funeral plan not applicable to any other product or service |
| Co-operative Bank or smile credit card | 1 point for every £10 borrowed, based on an average of your monthly statement balances |
| Co-operative Bank or smile current accounts | 1 point for every £10 based on average quarterly credit balances held |
| Co-operative Bank or smile loan | 1 point for every £10 outstanding on the loan |
| Co-operative Bank, smile or Britannia savings | 1 point for every £20 held on average during the year |
| Co-operative Bank or Britannia mortgage | 1 point for every £40 outstanding on mortgage, based on outstanding balance held on 30 June and 31 December |
| Co-operative Bank flexible loan | 1 point for every £10 borrowed on average based on the average of the monthly balances outstanding on the loan |
| Co-operative Insurance policies | 250 points for holding a policy (125 points for 6 months) awarded proportionally for each full month held |
Points may not apply to all products,
Contact Information
Dave Smith
Co-operative Group Press Office
0161 827 5614 (office)
07702 152771 (mobile)
Email - dave.smith@co-op.co.uk