The Co-op will open 50 new shops before Christmas as part of a wider £200 million investment programme, bringing more than 200 new and transformed stores to communities across the UK during the 2024/25 financial year. The rollout follows the group’s recovery from a damaging cyber-attack and arrives alongside renewed calls for business-rates reform ahead of the Autumn Budget.
Store Numbers, Formats & Investment Overview
The Co-op’s expansion covers more than 50 new or transformed stores opening before Christmas, part of a broader push that has already delivered over £200 million in store spend across the UK this financial year. The investment touches everything from flagship city sites to small high-street units in Cornwall, Devon, and the Scottish Highlands.
Alongside brand-new openings, around 36 stores have re-opened following extensive refurbishment, giving previously closed sites a renewed design and expanded product range. The programme also includes five new micro-format on the go stores, aimed at high-footfall locations such as university campuses and city centres.
Notably, the Co-op has opened its first permanent retailer store at the Brent Cross Town development in London, and a new franchise store at Lancaster University, reflecting a shift toward flexible formats that fit different community needs. The rollout stretches from the southernmost point in Devon to the northernmost new store in the Scottish Highlands.
Online and delivery access has expanded too, with the Co-op strengthening partnerships with Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat for rapid delivery, plus parcel collection points added at many of the new and transformed locations. This dual focus on physical stores and online shop access underlines a strategy built around convenience and local presence.
Business Rates Reform Call & Government Pressure
Alongside the store-opening announcement, Co-op Group CEO Shirine Khoury-Haq has renewed pressure on the Government to deliver business-rates reform, calling it vital for giving retailers the stability to invest and grow. The timing, just before the Autumn Budget, is deliberate — the Co-op wants its £200 million investment to serve as proof of what’s possible when confidence is high.
Industry figures suggest the stakes are significant. HR consultant Jim Moore has warned that a double-whammy of rising employer National Insurance contributions and a lowered payment threshold for the smallest employers could put between 60,000 and 150,000 shops and jobs at risk, with figures varying by source.
The core ask is straightforward: extend business-rates relief so that businesses of all sizes, from small independents to large wholesale partners, can plan with confidence and continue to invest in local economies. Co-op has pointed to the raised Employment Allowance of £5,000 as a partial offset, but argues it isn’t enough on its own to sustain long-term growth.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces calls from multiple retail voices to finish the job on reform, with 99% of the Co-op’s stores classed as small stores that depend on predictable overheads. Supporters argue that clear, long-promised reform would let businesses commit to communities rather than face redundancies or closures.
Cyber-Attack Recovery Context
The store rollout comes as the Co-op recovers from a sophisticated cyber-attack in April 2025, which saw hackers steal data, including login credentials, for around 6.9 million members. The attackers reportedly copied a company file and impersonated employees to gain account access, though the Co-op said the attack method meant it was unable to deploy ransomware.
The financial impact has been substantial. Interim figures put the hit to operating profit at around £80 million, with some estimates suggesting the full annual earnings impact could reach £206 million once lost sales, bare shelves, and supply-chain disruption are factored in. Analysts have pointed to weak consumer confidence and rising costs as compounding pressures during the recovery period.
Despite the scale of the disruption, the Co-op has used the recovery as a springboard for accelerated investment in digital resilience and store expansion. The record store-opening pace this autumn is being framed internally as a rare boost of optimism after a difficult year for UK retail security.
Community & In-Store Features
Beyond the numbers, the Co-op has positioned this expansion as more than just a shop rollout — it’s about creating local community hubs. Co-op Operations Director Kate McCrae has said the aim is to meet the needs of communities conveniently, backing British farmers and suppliers while investing in stores and local jobs.
Many of the new and refurbished stores include 100% British fresh and frozen meat, free ATM access, and in-store soft plastic recycling for hard-to-recycle items like crisp packets, bread bags, biscuit wrappers, and pet food pouches. These small additions are designed to make each store feel like it genuinely contributes to local life.
Delivery has also been woven into the community offer, with Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and Just Eat partnerships allowing orders to be picked fresh in-store and delivered in 60 minutes or less in many areas. This quick-commerce operation sits alongside the traditional grocery offer rather than replacing it.
“On the Go” Format — Deep Dive (Chelmsford Launch)
The first on the go format store has opened on Chelmsford High Street in Essex, a smaller 850 sq ft concept built for high-footfall locations like offices, homes, and transport hubs. It’s a notable departure from the standard Co-op layout, with Director of Store Optimisation Gary Williams overseeing the new product development behind it.
The menu leans into grab-and-go convenience: falafel & houmous bowls, tomato mozzarella & pesto focaccia bagels, sweet potato bhaji wraps, and chicken bacon avocado caesar wraps sit alongside a hot food serve-over counter offering hot noodles and all-day breakfast pots. Costa Coffee is available on-site, alongside tea and a dedicated bakery selection.
Breakfast options include apple & cinnamon overnight oats and berry burst bircher, while the deli-inspired lunch and dinner range covers sandwiches, pies, and smoked salmon. Area Operations Manager Giulio Divaira has described the format as roughly a fifth the size of a standard shop but built to cover daily essentials without compromise.
Practical touches matter too — phone-charging points and limited seating make the Chelmsford store suited to short visits during a workday. With opening hours of 7am to 7pm, the format is designed around commuter and office patterns rather than traditional weekly grocery shopping. Similar on the go stores are expected to follow in other high-street communities.
Record 11 Stores in One Week
In the week commencing 25 November 2025, the Co-op opened a record 11 stores in a single week, spanning locations from Blaenavon in Wales to Brora in the Scottish Highlands. This pace formed part of the wider 50-store rollout and was timed deliberately to land just before the Budget.
Openings that week included stores on Church Street, Mansfield Road, Stiby Road, Main Street, Wordsworth Avenue, and Kentish Town Road, covering towns as varied as Sheffield, Nottinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Bristol, Oxenhope, and Swallownest. The geographic spread reflects the Co-op’s strategy of filling gaps in both urban and rural high streets simultaneously.
This concentrated burst of activity, arriving in the week prior to the wider Christmas rollout, was framed by the Co-op’s leadership as evidence that the business is ready to act, regardless of what happens at this week’s Budget on business-rates reform.
Wider Economic/Policy Backdrop
The Co-op’s investment lands against a backdrop of persistent economic pressure on UK retail. CPI inflation has stayed close to double the Bank of England’s target in recent readings, squeezing thin-margin sectors like grocery and hospitality especially hard.
HR commentary from figures such as Hamilton Nash and Jim Moore has focused on the double-whammy retailers face: a lower Employment Allowance payment threshold combined with a higher employer National Insurance contribution rate, which analysts estimate raises costs for smallest employers by roughly 15% in some cases.
While the previous Budget offered some ease through a raised Employment Allowance of £9,100 for qualifying businesses, retail groups argue the risk to jobs remains real without a firmer, long-term commitment to reform. This is the backdrop against which the Co-op’s £200 million store investment is being read as a signal — and a challenge — to policymakers.
Full List of Store Locations
The Co-op’s rollout spans dozens of towns and cities across the UK, with locations confirmed via the Co-op’s live store finder (some sources report 50 stores, others 51, depending on the timing of publication):
| Store Location | Area | Notable Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Kingswells | Aberdeen | — |
| Southwick Square | West Sussex | — |
| Isle of Grain | Kent | — |
| Callander | Stirling | — |
| Fortrose | Scottish Highlands | — |
| Frampton Cotterell | Bristol | Franchise store |
| Gairloch, Main Road | Inverness-shire | — |
| Runcorn | Cheshire | — |
| Selkirk, High Street | Scottish Borders | — |
| Brent Cross Town | London | First permanent retailer on site |
| Aylesbury, Vicarage Lane | Buckinghamshire | — |
| Bowden | Cheshire | — |
| Rhosllannerchrugog | Wrexham, Wales | — |
| Wynyard | County Durham | — |
| Kingston, Caldon Road | Kingston upon Thames | — |
| Irvine, Church Street | Irvine | — |
| Inverness, Cross Lane | Inverness | — |
| Bebington | Wirral | — |
| Shoreham, High Street | East Sussex | — |
| Lowton | Warrington, Cheshire | — |
| Lancaster University Campus | Lancaster | Franchise store |
| Tavistock, Market Street | Devon | — |
| Southampton, Bassett Green Road | Southampton | — |
| Chelmsford High Street | Essex | First Essex on the go store |
| Faircross Parade | Barking | — |
| Great Moor | Stockport | — |
| Westfield | Yeovil, Somerset | — |
| Llanidloes | Powys, Wales | — |
| Blaenavon | Wales | — |
| Theale, High Street | Reading | — |
| Cuxton | Rochester, Kent | — |
| Oxenhope | West Yorkshire | — |
| Axminster | Devon | — |
| Solihull, City Road | London | — |
| Penkhull | Staffordshire | — |
| Earls Barton | Northampton | — |
| Eastern Green | Coventry | — |
| Evanton, Easter Ross | Scottish Highlands | — |
| Brora | Scottish Highlands | Most northerly store |
| Kingussie, High Street | Inverness-shire | — |
| Leamington | Leamington Spa | — |
| Gamlingay | Bedfordshire | — |
| Ludwick | Welwyn Garden City | — |
| Dedworth | Windsor | — |
| Altrincham | — | — |
| Clipstone | Nottinghamshire | — |
| Flitwick | Bedfordshire | — |
| Kentish Town | London | — |
| Burley in Wharfedale | Ilkley, Yorkshire | — |
| Stratford-Upon-Avon | Warwickshire | — |
| Swallownest | South Yorkshire | — |
FAQs
How many new Co-op stores are opening before Christmas?
The Co-op is opening more than 50 new or transformed stores before Christmas, part of a wider £200 million investment programme covering over 200 new and transformed locations across the 2024/25 financial year.
Was Co-op affected by a cyber-attack?
Yes. Co-op suffered a sophisticated cyber-attack in April 2025 in which hackers stole data, including login credentials, for around 6.9 million members. The financial hit to operating profit is estimated at around £80 million, with some annual impact estimates reaching £206 million.
Where is the first Brent Cross Town Co-op store?
The Co-op has opened its first permanent retailer store at the Brent Cross Town development in London, marking a new format presence at one of the capital’s major regeneration sites.
Why is Co-op calling for business-rates reform?
Co-op Group CEO Shirine Khoury-Haq says business-rates reform is vital to give retailers of all sizes the stability to invest and grow. With 99% of its stores classed as small stores, the group argues reform would protect jobs and sustain local economies.
What is the Co-op “on the go” format?
The on the go format is a smaller, 850 sq ft convenience concept first launched on Chelmsford High Street in Essex. It focuses on grab-and-go food, hot drinks, and a hot food serve-over counter for commuters and office workers.
Did Co-op open a record number of stores in one week?
Yes. In the week commencing 25 November 2025, Co-op opened a record 11 stores in a single week, spanning locations from Blaenavon in Wales to Brora in the Scottish Highlands.
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