Co-op Group’s loss for the period widened to £72m ($95.3m) for the first half (H1) of the year, up from £54m previously, as promotional and store investment costs weighed on earnings.
Group revenue climbed 2.4% to £5.61bn for the 26 weeks ended 4 July 2026. The reported loss followed a £14m tax credit.
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The UK retailer’s statutory operating loss expanded to £109m, compared with £56m in the prior-year period, while the underlying operating loss stood at £45m, against £32m a year earlier.
Statutory loss before tax reached £86m, up from £50m previously, and the underlying figure came in at £92m, compared with £75m in H1 2025.
Food Retail, the largest of the group’s divisions, generated revenue of £3.71bn, an increase of 2.6%, but swung to an underlying operating loss of £18m, having delivered an £11m profit in the equivalent period last year.
The group linked the £29m swing to investing roughly 1% of its margin rate in promotions and pricing, including price-matching 135 essential products against Aldi for members.
Wholesale and franchise revenue remained flat at £683m, with the underlying operating loss widening to £13m from £10m.
Life services revenue increased 8.1% to £227m, while underlying operating profit rose to £28m from £24m, driven by growth in Funeralcare and legal services together with a 20% rise in insurance underlying operating profit.
On 26 July 2026, Co-op welcomed more than 300,000 Southern Co-op members after 97% of those who voted backed the proposal to join forces.
Southern Co-op’s 170 stores, 70 funeral homes and three crematoria transferred to Siena Co-operative Limited, a wholly owned Co-op Group subsidiary.
The businesses continue to operate separately while the transaction undergoes review by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.
Co-op interim CEO 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.
“We expect to see a stronger performance in the second half than the first, with sales growth and improvements in profitability.”
