Co-op accelerates UK store expansion with 50 openings before Christmas
Retailer steps up £200 million investment in convenience formats while urging clarity on business-rates reform.
Co-op is pressing ahead with a major bricks-and-mortar expansion, confirming plans to open or relaunch more than 50 stores across the UK in November and December as part of a £200 million investment programme for 2024/25.
The move will strengthen Co-op’s presence on high streets, new developments and university campuses, with convenience formats at the heart of its growth strategy. The 50 sites are a mix of brand-new stores and re-openings following extensive refurbishment, taking the total number of new and transformed stores to over 200 in the current investment cycle.
Openings will stretch from Brora in the Scottish Highlands to locations in Devon and Cornwall. In London, the company will become the first permanent retailer at the new Brent Cross Town development, underlining its role in major urban regeneration projects. The programme also includes five new micro-format “on the go” convenience stores aimed at busy commuters and city-centre shoppers.
“ Business-rates reform is vital if retailers – especially the 99% who run small stores - are to plan with confidence, protect jobs and keep local economies thriving,” said Shirine Khoury-Haq, Co-op Group CEO. “The Government now has an opportunity in the Autumn Budget to do its part by delivering the reform that’s long been promised – giving every retailer, from small to large, the stability to invest and grow.”
Franchise growth is part of the push, with a new franchise store opening on the Lancaster University campus, taking the number of Co-op university campus franchises to 11. Co-op says the expansion demonstrates its confidence in the future of local, physical retail and its co-operative model, owned by more than seven million members.
