Co-operative Group says investments in its turnaround will hit full-year profits September 3, 2015 The Co-operative Group has warned full-year profits are likely to be lower than 2014 is ramps up investment as part of a radical overhaul of the business following one of the most turbulent periods in its history. The company, which operates everything from supermarkets to funerals, has been fighting to restore its fortunes following the [...]
Co-operative Bank losses nearly treble as turnaround plan gets underway August 20, 2015 The figures Co-op Bank said it made a loss of £204.2m in the first half of 2015, up from a £77m loss in the same period last year, however this was slightly better than expected. The bank’s operating income slumped to £236.5m during this period, from £307.3m in the first half of 2014. This included losses [...]
Struggling banks must not be immune to watchdog’s bite August 12, 2015 It's two years since “saying it with Flowers” gained entry into the lexicon of British banking. This week’s dual censure from the banking and City regulators will have felt like groundhog day to Niall Booker and the rest of the Co-operative Bank’s management. The Treasury Select Committee and a review by Sir Christopher [...]
Former Co-operative Bank execs to face regulator scrutiny August 12, 2015 The Co-operative Bank may have avoided paying a financial penalty for its “serious and wide-ranging failings” between 2009 and 2013, but it is expected that the firm’s former management will face fines and punishments in the months ahead. The Bank of England’s prudential regulation authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said yesterday [...]
Regulators rule out huge fines in Co-op Bank probe August 11, 2015 The City’s watchdogs are set to announce the conclusion of their 18-month enforcement probe into the Co-operative Bank today, with the scandal-hit lender expected to avoid any threat of huge fines. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) launched their investigations of the troubled firm in January 2014. The regulators will [...]
Supermarket wars: Growth at Co-op Food for first time in a year, as Tesco and Asda decline yet again July 28, 2015 The Co-Operative supermarket is back in growth for the first time in a year, as Sainsbury's reclaims its second place position in the sector. The sector experienced slight growth for the 12 weeks to 19 July, with sales up 0.8 per cent year on year – though this was generally experienced by the smaller [...]
The Co-operative Group gets upgrade from S&P: The Co-op is moving up in the (credit ratings) world July 23, 2015 Good news (at last) for the troubled Co-op Group. Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has upgraded its credit one notch to BB, saying the outlook for the business “is stable”. This pat on the back comes after the business returned to profit in April, turning around the situation a year earlier when it made [...]
Supermarket wars: The Co-op Food is going on a hiring spree July 22, 2015 The Co-op is clearly feeling bullish about growth opportunities for its supermarket. Fresh from investing £125m to back its entry in the grocery price war, Co-operative Food has just announced plans to go on a hiring spree. The supermarket has committed to hiring a further 1,000 frontline staff to work in its convenience stores. [...]
The Co-operative likes its customers so much it charged them twice for petrol and supermarket groceries July 9, 2015 The Co-operative's supermarket arm said today it has refunded customers after a processing error means customers who bought groceries or used a filling station using a credit or debit card were charged twice. In a statement today, the company admitted the error, which affects customers who shopped at its stores on 7 July, but said [...]
Co-operative appoints two new non-exec directors in governance shake-up June 26, 2015 The Co-operative Group has appointed two new non-executive directors to its board, following changes made last year to the company's governance nominations. Read more: Co-operative Group returns to profit amid turnaround plan Stevie Spring is joining the group from ITG Group and Children in Need, while Peter Plumb is coming from Moneysupermarket.com. In [...]