Co-op’s Wholesale and Franchise revenue remained flat at £683m in the first half of 2026, as the business opened 164 new stores and secured £142m in new business agreements by total contract value, with a £280m pipeline to year-end.
The division recorded an underlying operating loss of £13m, compared with a £10m loss a year earlier, although Co-op said the result was broadly flat after excluding the impact of diesel prices and changes to Extended Producer Responsibility accounting. Co-op continued what it described as a long-term reset of its wholesale operation, with updated Nisa branding rolled out to 25 stores and 100 planned for the year.
Co-op’s Food Retail revenue grew 2.6% to £3.7bn, with an underlying operating loss of £18m. The group recorded 24% sales growth in quick-commerce online convenience shopping, which has been expanded to 90% of stores.
Co-op invested around 1% of margin in driving trade and footfall in food stores through deals and discounts, including 135 essentials price-matched to Aldi for members. It said transactions had consequently returned to levels seen before the 2025 cyber attack. The business also undertook 25 refits alongside 17 store openings during the half, which included franchise stores and “sustainability showcase” stores.
The Co-op’s Q2 activity in Scotland included a new franchise in Cruden Bay in Aberdeenshire; and refits in Innerleithen in the Scottish Borders and Stepps in Glasgow.
The group’s underlying operating loss widened from £32m to £45m, while total revenue rose 2.4% to £5.6bn. Co-op said £11m of the £13m year-on-year variance in its underlying operating result reflected accounting treatment.
Interim Chief Executive Kate Allum said:
“2026 is looking like a year of two halves for our Co-op. The first half was characterised by difficult markets and low consumer confidence, especially for Food Retail. Against those conditions, we made decisions to drive trade – investing in promotions and investing in our stores – while also mitigating rising costs. These things have had a short-term impact on profitability.
“Speaking now in the second half, we’re seeing bigger baskets and more transactions. Conditions remain challenging, but we see reasons for confidence across our portfolio, having delivered strong growth in areas such as online convenience shopping and funerals. We expect to see a stronger performance in the second half than the first, with sales growth and improvements in profitability.”
