This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2010) |
![]() | |
Your Coop | |
Formerly |
|
Company type | Consumer Co-operative |
Industry | Retail (Wholesale) |
Founded | 1969[1] |
Headquarters | Co-operative House, Warwick Technology Park, Gallows Hill, |
Key people | Phil Ponsonby (CEO) |
Products |
|
Revenue | ![]() |
![]() | |
Members | ![]() |
Number of employees | ![]() |
Website | midcounties |
The Midcounties Co-operative Limited [4] [a] , trading as Your Co-op, is a consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom with over 700,000 members. [2] Registered in England under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, it is a member of Co-operatives UK and Federal Retail Trading Services.
The Society's principal activity is retailing in parts of the West Midlands, South West, and South East regions, however some of its businesses do trade nationally. Its trading groups are Food, Travel, Phone Co-op, Post Office, Childcare and Flexible Benefits. The society is also active in recruiting electricity and gas customers through its Co-op Energy brand, and in community-owned energy generation through a partnership with Octopus Energy.
The Midcounties Co-operative has its headquarters in Warwick, Warwickshire, with trading outlets in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Shropshire, the West Midlands, Worcestershire and the surrounding counties, [7] but also has a national trading presence through its Travel, Childcare, Phone Co-op and Flexible Benefits businesses.
As of 2019, Midcounties generated £1.5bn of sales and had over 500 trading sites. Trade with members as a proportion of total sales was 42%. [2]
The Midcounties Co-operative invests in the communities in which it trades through responsible trading, local sourcing, community projects and charitable work. In 2018/2019 Midcounties paid out £1.6million in community and charity giving, paying out £1.3 million to its members as a share of the profits.
In the last full year of trading, 2018/19, Midcounties recorded sales of £1.55bn (£1.48bn 2017/18) and an operating profit before exceptional items of £8.2m (£10.9m 2017/18). The Society had £39.2m in bank debt (£54.1m 2017/18) and a £41.3m (£48.5m 2017/18) pension deficit as at 26 January 2019. Society membership was over 700,000 in 2019, up 11% over the year and a 22% increase over a three-year period. [8]
The Society is run by a non-executive Board of 16 Directors, which is chaired by the Society's President. The members of the Board are elected directly by the members. The current President is Helen Wiseman.
![]() | This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: Running far before 2005. Editors: see the FCA site for more info..(July 2023) |
The Midcounties Co-operative was formed in 2005, by the merger of the Oxford, Swindon and Gloucester Co-operative Society and the West Midlands Co-operative Society. [9] As a result, the Society's geographical trading area spans ten counties: Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Wiltshire, and Worcestershire. [7] Following the inception and growth of the Travel, Childcare, Flexible Benefits and Energy businesses, it is now a nationally trading Society.
Some of the earliest predecessor societies that combined with others to eventually form The Midcounties Co-operative are:
Community | Formed |
---|---|
Swindon | 1853 |
Gloucester | 1860 |
Chipping Norton | 1866 |
Walsall | 1866 |
Oxford | 1872 |
Cinderford | 1874 |
The Midcounties Co-operative operates a range of businesses in Food, Travel, Childcare, Energy, Post Offices, Flexible Benefits and Telecoms.
The Midcounties Co-operative is one of the largest independent food retailers in the country[ citation needed ] with 309 stores, operating as Your Coop Food
The Midcounties Co-operative operates 60 travel branches across Midcounties' trading area and controls the Cooptravel.co.uk and Co-operativeski.co.uk websites. The Midcounties Co-operative travel business is branded "Your Coop Travel (Part of the Midcounties Co-operative)". It is distinct from the former business The Co-operative Travel which was owned and operated as a joint venture by Thomas Cook, The Co-operative Group and Central England Co-operative. That business was rebranded to the Thomas Cook name during 2017–18, its branches subsequently being acquired by Hays Travel upon the liquidation of Thomas Cook.
In 2020 the Midcounties travel business acquired 16 travel branches and employees from the Central England Co-operative. [10]
In 2002, the Society became the first UK co-operative to open a children's day care facility. Your Coop Childcare now operates 44 nurseries across the UK. The acquisition of the Buffer Bear nursery chain in 2010 saw its Childcare business begin to trade nationally, with nurseries spanning from Newcastle to Southampton.
In 2019, Co-operative Flexible Benefits had gross sales of £25 million, however, the childcare voucher scheme which it operated was closed to new entrants in October 2018. As a result, the childcare voucher business is now being wound down, the process will take around three years. To replace it, the Society is developing a Reward and Recognition offer for employers to promote high performance, motivation and engagement.
In 2016/17, The Midcounties Co-operative operated 55 post offices with gross sales of £2.9 million.
On 28 April 2018 the members of The Phone Co-op, previously an independent society operating in B2B & B2C ethical telecoms,student housing and community energy, voted to transfer its engagements to and merge memberships with Midcounties. A confirmatory vote held after the Midcounties AGM on 12 May 2018 was passed, [11] allowing Midcounties to thus broaden its utilities offer. The merger took place on 1 June 2018, with members of The Phone Co-op joining Midcounties membership. [12] After 20 Years of near continuous surplus generating growth, in 2018/19 The Phone Co-op had gross sales of £6.7 million but faced issues with generating organic sales growth, a rapidly changing market place and changes to its affinity schemes brought about by EU Data protection legislation which prevented Charities, Community Groups, Football Clubs etc from cross selling phone co-op product lines with a 8% revenue share.
Midcounties Co-operative also has an agreement with Octopus Group to market and distribute energy products under the Co-op Energy brand, following the sale of its interest in the Co-op Energy supply business to Octopus Energy in 2019. A joint venture also targets investment in new community energy projects, provides practical support to community groups and aims to increase the volume of energy purchased from community schemes; thereby encouraging more small-scale generation across the UK. [13] [14]
Motorworld (also known as The Co-operative Motors) was a co-operative car dealership. Its franchises included Volkswagen, Audi, Volvo, Mitsubishi, Mazda and Hyundai. The Midcounties Co-operative intended it to be the most socially responsible car dealership in the UK, but sold it off in January 2010 at a loss of £2.4 million. [15] [16]
The Midcounties Co-operative's energy business, The Co-operative Energy, supplies gas and electricity to UK homes. The business was established in 2010, launching as a lately internet based provider but was largely unknown. criticised by customers in 2015 after a failed IT upgrade to its online customer service and billing system caused numerous problems and a large backlog in dealing with issues. In the first quarter of 2015 it was the fourth most complained about utility company, measured in complaints per thousand customers. [17] In subsequent quarters it became the second worst and then the worst for the period July–September according to the official Energy Ombudsman. [18] [19] By the end of 2016 these issues had been resolved and the company was paying out £1.8 million in compensation to customers. [20]
Midcounties Co-operative announced the sale of its energy supply business, including Flow Energy, GB Energy and Co-op Energy, to Octopus Group for an undisclosed sum in August 2019. Customers were transferred to Octopus Energy, while Midcounties will continue to market and distribute energy products under the Co-op Energy brand. [13]
The society briefly ran a service offering newspaper delivery. It's grocery stores continue to sell newspapers but the traditional newsagent home delivery business was exited.
In 2021 the Midcounties Co-operative completed a review of its Healthcare business selling 29 of its 30 pharmacies branches to focus on its digital healthcare offering. The pharmacy group controlled the cooppharmacy.coop website and in 2013 launched a new Online Doctor service providing online medical care and prescriptions direct to customers' homes. The online pharmacy business ceased trading in January 2023. [21] [22]
The society operated a single store, with a small dedicated team, for approximately twenty years.
The Midcounties Co-operative, which operated as The Co-operative Funeralcare, provided 85 funeral homes and three masonry sites. The group had over 150 years' experience in providing funeral care to its local communities. After a business review in 2021, the majority of funeral homes were transferred to Central England Co-operative. [23]
Traditional staffed counters inside co-op premises for members to conduct withdrawals and subscriptions into their share accounts (common when few people had bank accounts) have been withdrawn. The service remains accessible via post at the head office, where a team of 4 administer account books and certificates. Subscriptions are by application only and at the members risk.
Membership is open to all, with members receiving a share of the profits in the form of dividend. Members are entitled to a share in the business after investing a minimum of £1, which is automatically deducted from the first dividend payment. The scheme is run in conjunction with The Co-operative Group membership, allowing a Midcounties card to be used at businesses operated by other participating societies.
The membership card allows members to collect points either by spending in stores or attending events. Points are converted to vouchers twice yearly, usually in May and November. The vouchers can be spent in any of The Midcounties Co-operative's trading outlets, paid into the member's share account or donated to charity. The first 1000 membership points earned are automatically converted into a charity donation.
Members receive 10% off their first shop and exclusive member's price discounts.
The Midcounties Co-operative has four values on which the business is run, consisting of Democracy, Openness, Equality and Social Responsibility. These values are derived from the Co-operative Movement's founding values. The society is run in a democratic way, with its board of directors voted for by its members, it aims to be open and honest with its colleagues and members, strives to promote and embrace equality and is committed to helping its local communities through grant giving and volunteer work, and it also aims to be more environmentally friendly.
Midcounties Co-operative did, however, fail to pay the national minimum wage to some newspaper delivery staff for four years, and following a HM Revenue and Customs investigation in 2016 paid more than £14,000 back pay due to one staff member. This is the highest single payout made in the UK following a HMRC investigation. In 2014 an internal complaint had been made, but this had been rejected by Midcounties Co-operative management. Back pay may be due to up to 200 other newspaper delivery staff. The breach was due to Midcounties Co-operative unreasonably estimating the time taken to carry out a delivery round. Additionally one member of staff was working seven days a week and taking little holiday, a breach of the working time regulations. [24] [25]
The Midcounties Co-operative has a strong commitment to investing in the communities in which it trades through responsible trading, local sourcing, community projects and charitable work. To this end the co-op invested 17.6% of its 2013–2014 pre-tax profits (£1.8m) into the communities in which it trades. This figure is significantly higher than the average value for large UK co-ops (6.9%) or other rival supermarkets (2.4%). [26] In 2014 the society provided support for over 10,000 community groups and encouraged colleagues to volunteer over 23,500 hours to support local communities. [27]
The co-op supports 40 local foodbanks and in 2014 enabled 10,000 products to be donated from its food stores.[ citation needed ]
The society firmly believes that community retailers should pay all taxes which are due and should not engage in aggressive artificial tax avoidance. In 2013 the society set out its tax charter and in 2014 became one of the first three businesses in the UK to be awarded the Fair Tax Mark. [28] This certification shows that the business is transparent about its tax affairs and does not engage in tax avoidance.
Energy consumption across the business is down by 10% since 2009 and own brand packaging is down by 39% since 2006.[ citation needed ] The society recycles over 80% of its waste (2014) with food waste being converted into renewable energy.[ citation needed ] All electricity used by the business comes from renewable sources.[ citation needed ]
In contrast to this, and the group's stated environmental values, the Co-operative Energy business, run by The Midcounties Co-operative, purchased less than 5% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2015. [29] It also had a relatively large portion of coal within its main fuel mix, 37% more than the UK average in 2015. A February 2016 decision to stop purchasing coal resulted in the fuel source being phased out of its mix over the following three years as contracts expired. [30] As of 2024, 100% of Co-op Energy's fuel mix was from renewable sources. [31]
The co-op provided £100,000 of support for co-operative development though its 'Co-operative Futures' project. In 2014, 83 co-operatives were advised or supported by Co-operative Futures and 17 new registrations of co-operatives were completed. Its total commitment to supporting the growth of co-operatives in 2014 was £280,000. [27]
The Society was ranked in the Sunday Times '25 Best Big Companies to Work For' list, which is based on employee feedback, in 2011 (24th place), 2012 (24th place), 2013 (13th place) and 2014 (10th place). [32] [33]
The Society was awarded Platinum in the Business in the Community Corporate Responsibility Index 2012 and 2013. In 2014 the society was awarded 4.5 stars in the index, reflecting a score of 98%, and in 2015 was one of four companies to achieve the highest 5-star rating. [34]
In 2018/19 colleagues, members and customers donated over 100,000 items to foodbanks. [2]
.coop is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) in the Domain Name System of the Internet. It is intended for the use of cooperatives, their wholly owned subsidiaries, and other organizations that exist to promote or support cooperatives.
A utility cooperative is a type of cooperative that is tasked with the delivery of a public utility such as electricity, water or telecommunications to its members. Profits are either reinvested for infrastructure or distributed to members in the form of "patronage" or "capital credits", which are dividends paid on a member's investment in the cooperative.
The Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op and formerly known as the Co-operative Wholesale Society, is a British consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses, including grocery retail and wholesale, legal services, funerals and insurance, and social enterprise.
The Phone Co-op was an independent consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. It provided landline, mobile telephone and Internet services, including web hosting and broadband. In April 2018, the Phone Co-op board agreed for its operations to be transferred to the Midcounties Co-operative, with the Phone Co-op legal entity ceasing to exist. The brand continued to be operated until 1 June 2018, when it was rebranded to Your Co-op following the completion of the transfer.
The United Kingdom is home to a widespread and diverse co-operative movement, with over 7,000 registered co-operatives owned by 17 million individual members and which contribute £34bn a year to the British economy. Modern co-operation started with the Rochdale Pioneers' shop in the northern English town of Rochdale in 1844, though the history of co-operation in Britain can be traced back to before 1800. The British co-operative movement is most commonly associated with The Co-operative brand which has been adopted by several large consumers' co-operative societies; however, there are many thousands of registered co-operative businesses operating in the UK. Alongside these consumers' co-operatives, there exist many prominent agricultural co-operatives (621), co-operative housing providers (619), health and social care cooperatives (111), cooperative schools (834), retail co-operatives, co-operatively run community energy projects, football supporters' trusts, credit unions, and worker-owned businesses.
A consumers' co-operative is an enterprise owned by consumers and managed democratically and that aims at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of its members. Such co-operatives operate within the market system, independently of the state, as a form of mutual aid, oriented toward service rather than pecuniary profit. Many cooperatives, however, do have a degree of profit orientation. Just like other corporations, some cooperatives issue dividends to owners based on a share of total net profit or earnings ; or based on a percentage of the total amount of purchases made by the owner. Regardless of whether they issue a dividend or not, most consumers’ cooperatives will offer owners discounts and preferential access to goods and services.
The East of England Co-operative Society is the fourth largest consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom after The Co-operative Group, The Midcounties Co-operative and Central England Co-operative. It is a registered society with its headquarters in Wherstead, near Ipswich and trading in the eastern counties of Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. The Society is the area's largest independent retailer.
Poptel was initially an email and bulletin board service, and later a British internet and on-line services provider that was run by an employee co-operative from 1986 to 2002.
Lincolnshire Co-op is an independent consumer co-operative which operates in Lincolnshire, and surrounding counties. The society has over 220 outlets with its principal trading activity being its food stores, funeral homes, florist and crematorium, travel agencies, post offices and pharmacies. The Society is owned by over 295,000 members holding Lincolnshire Co-op dividend cards, equal to approximately one quarter of the population of Greater Lincolnshire. The society also owns Gadsby's bakery which is based in Southwell, Nottinghamshire.
DotCooperation LLC is the Registry of the Top-Level Domain (TLD) .coop.
The Co-operative, also known as Co-op, is a brand used by a variety of co-operatives based in the United Kingdom. It is not a single business, but a number of different consumers' co-operatives spanning various sectors.
The Co-operative Travel Trading Group was the central buying group for co-operative travel agents in the United Kingdom. It was established along the same lines as the Co-operative Retail Trading Group when the Co-operative Group merged its own five travel operations in 2003.
The Co-operative Travel is a travel agency brand used by some independent retail co-operatives in the United Kingdom, such as Midcounties Co-operative, through their access to The Co-operative brand. Between 2011 and 2016, the brand was also used by TCCT Retail Limited, a travel agency run as a joint venture between the Thomas Cook Group, The Co-operative Group, and Central England Co-operative.
Funeral Services Limited, trading as Co-op Funeralcare, is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Co-operative Group, based in Manchester, which operates over 1,000 funeral homes and is the largest funeral director in the United Kingdom, accounting for 16.5% of the "at need" funeral market during 2016. Co-op Funeralcare is a member of the National Association of Funeral Directors and is also Funeral Planning Authority registered.
Co-op Energy is a membership-owned British energy supply company based in Warwick that began trading in 2010. It sells renewable electricity and gas to its ethically concerned member owner/customers and is an established large operator, an alternative to the Big Six energy suppliers. Constituting half or more of the Your Co-op Utilities division of its parent society Midcounties Co-operative, Co-op Energy is the only co-operative supplier in the British market, meaning supplied customers can voluntarily acquire an ownership share and thereby receive rights to influence the governance of the business, stand for election and have a say in formulating the products it offers.
Central England Co-operative, trading as Central Co-op, is a regional consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom, based in Lichfield and which trades from over 400 sites across the English Midlands and East Anglia. The business is owned and democratically controlled by its members who can stand for election to the board and who also share in the society's profits. A proportion of the profits of the business are also invested in local community groups through its community dividend grants programme and its more than 60 member classes.
Tamworth Co-operative Society Limited is a small independent consumer co-operative in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England. The co-operative operates a department store, supermarket, 11 convenience stores, and eight funeral care locations, with over 20,000 members and an annual turnover in excess of £23m.
Ben Reid is a member of the board of directors of International Cooperative Alliance and former CEO of Midcounties Co-operative.
Octopus Energy Group is a British renewable energy group. It was founded in 2015 with the backing of Octopus Group, a British asset management company. Headquartered in London, the company has operations in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States. Octopus is the UK's largest supplier of electricity to domestic customers, and the second largest in domestic gas.