OurCoop, the UK's largest independent co-operative, has published its interim report for the first half of FY27, the first since the new society was formed in January. The report highlights strong progress in integrating the three founding societies.
Headline figures
Gross sales reached £1.3bn, a 180.3% increase reflecting the coming together of the three societies. Trading profit stood at £4.5m, in line with the figure reported by Central Co-op in the equivalent period last year, despite a challenging trading environment.
Savings from bringing the societies together totalled £2.3m, £900,000 ahead of plan. Capital investment of £12m was directed into new sites, refurbishments, maintenance and in-store technology. Member value generated reached £8.6m, compared with £4.5m in the equivalent period last year.
Integration commitments delivered
Debbie Robinson, chief executive of OurCoop, said: “Bringing the three societies together has created opportunities to reduce shared costs and make better use of resources.
“In our first half year as OurCoop, we have delivered on our integration commitments: maintaining stable trading profit, achieving savings ahead of plan and keeping leverage in line with our plan. Savings totalled £2.3m, £900,000 ahead of plan.
“Alongside this, we have invested in frontline pay and reward for colleagues across OurCoop. These are deliberate choices that are reflected in our reported profit.”
Membership and future focus
Robinson added: “We are also putting our energy into helping members benefit from our family of businesses. A single membership connects members to a range of services that support them through everyday life and at important moments.
“There is more work to do. By adopting the most efficient ways of working from across our founding Societies, we can reduce unnecessary tasks, remove duplication and lower costs. With our key technology decisions already made, our focus is now on implementing those systems, making full use of their capabilities and exploring the potential of AI to help us create a simpler operating model.”
OurCoop is owned by its members, who have a democratic say in how the society is run. At its interim members meeting on 21 October, members voted overwhelmingly in favour of changing the society’s legal name to OurCoop Limited. The process of formally adopting the new legal name is now underway.
