Co-op in turmoil as Myners quits April 9, 2014 THE CO-OPERATIVE Group was plunged into fresh chaos last night after the man tasked with saving the troubled organisation quit the group. Lord Myners, a former City minister, is set to resign his post as senior independent director just four months after he was appointed to lead an overhaul of the company’s bloated structure. It [...]
The Co-operative Group strikes deal to turn 54 pubs into shops April 7, 2014 THE CO-OPERATIVE Group has signed a deal to open 54 convenience stores on sites formerly occupied by Marston’s pubs. Property group NewRiver Retail, which bought 200 pubs in total from Marston’s last year for £90m, will lease the sites to the Co-op over the two years through a phased development programme. The deal will create [...]
Flowers: Chancellor wanted a Co-op deal March 25, 2014 DISGRACED former chairman of the Co-operative Bank Paul Flowers has accused the chancellor of being the driving force behind a deal which ultimately exposed the bank’s dire financial situation. In an explosive interview on the BBC’s Newsnight programme, Flowers told Jeremy Paxman that he came under “considerable” pressure from the government to complete a successful [...]
Co-op could cut off ailing bank March 24, 2014 THE CO-OP Group could sever its 143-year ties with its bank, after the scandal-hit lender yesterday revealed another £400m gap in its finances. Losses have now ballooned to £1.3bn for 2013, after bad loans came in even higher than expected and as its PPI mis-selling compensation bill keeps mounting, the bank said. It is asking [...]
Co-op Bank says it needs a further £400m March 24, 2014 The beleagured Co-op Bank has announced something of a combshell this morning: it needs to find another £400m of capital to cover unexpected costs and charges relating to misconduct and poor documentation. The lender's management has uncovered the costs, which come predominantly from compensation for PPI misselling, poor customer treatment relating to mortgages and breaching [...]
Co-op reshuffles management in group’s first wave of reforms March 19, 2014 THE MANAGEMENT team at the Co-op was reshuffled yesterday in the embattled group’s latest bid to show the leadership is serious about reforming its structure. It came as the mutual delayed its annual results and general meeting from next week to 17 April. The shake-up is the first stage of a series of reforms which [...]
City & Gild: Modernisation is the only way back to the future for the Co-op March 17, 2014 So what do we make of the recent goings-on at the Co-op Group, the once proud pioneer of social corporate responsibility? Taking their business issues to one side, it’s hard to knock their vision and values – to want to build a better society through ethical leadership (among other, altruistic aims) is not only a [...]
How Co-op may be downgraded if reforms falter March 12, 2014 THE TROUBLED Co-operative Group could lose its credit rating if it does not turn itself around, ratings agency analysts warned yesterday. Its reformist chief executive Euan Sutherland quit this week after failing to win over opponents on the group’s board. Sutherland will not be replaced until Lord Myners has completed his review of the mutual’s [...]
Co-op Group in turmoil: Sutherland quits and rival factions begin the fight for control March 11, 2014 THE CO-OP was plunged deeper into chaos yesterday as chief Euan Sutherland sensationally quit after just 10 months, inflaming a divisive row over modernising the mutual that threatened to split the board. Sutherland’s exit leaves serious question marks over the business’ future, with his resignation statement pointing to deep divisions at the top of the [...]
Meet the Co-op traditionalists’ top dog March 11, 2014 Ben Reid, the chief executive of the Midcounties Co-operative, is seen as the likely flag-bearer for the traditionalists in a battle for control of the Co-operative Group. The traditionalists have been opposed to many of the measures the departed chief executive Euan Sutherland has been trying to impose, such as restructuring, the selling off of [...]