Ahead of a vote on a merger with The Co-op Group, Southern Co-op has stressed the importance of voting in favour of the partnership to secure the future of the business.
In a letter from CEO Ben Stimson and Chair Janet Paraskeva, members were encouraged to vote for the merger, with Southern Co-op’s future at risk.
“Southern Co-op has made losses for the past three years. Over the last year, trading has become more difficult, and we have relied on ongoing support from our banks and suppliers to continue operating. That support cannot now be increased within the time available. To continue trading without a merger, we would need a significant level of financial support and we have not received any offers of funding at that level.
“If the merger does not go ahead, the most likely outcome is that Southern Co-op will enter insolvency through administration. This would put jobs at risk, lead to the loss of stores and negatively impact our suppliers.”
The Special General Meetings to determine the future of Southern Co-op will take place on 6 May and 21 May with the outcome of the votes expected on 22 May.
This comes as our sister title, The Grocer, reported that Southern Co-op had been approached by OurCo-op to discuss joining its ranks. Our Coop is made up of the former Central Co-op, The Midcounties Co-operative and Chelmsford Star Co-operative Society, and was formed in 2025.
In a letter published on the Southern Co-op’s website, CEO Debbie Robinson and Society President Elaine Dean said:
“We have also long admired Southern’s deep commitment to member and community engagement, which is something we recognise and share. We believe there is real potential for our Societies to build on our existing relationship – on membership, on campaigning, on community programmes – in ways that would benefit the members of both our Societies and the communities we serve alongside one another.
“More broadly, we would warmly welcome continued dialogue between our Societies about the future of the co-operative movement. Our own recent experience of coming together has given us learnings we would be very glad to share and we believe there is real value in independent Societies staying in close contact with one another, particularly at moments like this. Our door is always open to you, please do feel able to be in touch at any point, in whatever way would be most helpful.”
While not directly referencing the OurCoop offer, Stimson and Paraskeva’s letter to members states there is “no solvent alternative available to us now which we could deliver in the time frame and without exposing the business to a much greater risk”.
No comments yet