Co-op to open 50 more stores by end of 2025

Co-op has revealed plans to open more than 50 new or transformed stores across the UK before Christmas.

The stores opening in November and December are a mix of new sites and re-openings following major investment. Each site will offer member price savings, parcel collection, and rapid delivery through Co-op’s own online shop and partners including Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats.

Included in the 50 is Co-op becoming the first permanent retailer at the new Brent Cross Town development in London, five new micro-format ‘on the go’ stores and a new franchise store at Lancaster University.

Business rates appeal

According to the Co-op, the investment underlines its “confidence in the future of local, physical retail and its commitment to creating value for members, colleagues and communities”. The retailer added that certainty on business rates will be vital to sustaining investment and unlocking further growth across the sector.

Co-op Group CEO, Shirine Khoury-Haq, said: “We’re investing in stores and communities right across the UK because we believe in the future of the high street. But sustained growth needs certainty. 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.

“Co-op is showing what’s possible when businesses commit to communities. 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.”