Midcounties Co-operative

Not to be confused with Central England Co-operative.

The Midcounties Co-operative Limited
Your Coop
Formerly
  • Oxford and Swindon Co-operative Society Limited (1969–1992)
  • Oxford, Swindon & Gloucester Co-operative Limited (1992–2005)
  • West Midlands Co-operative Limited (Var- 2005)
  • SETCO (1996-1998)
  • The Phone Co-op Limited (1998-2019)
Company typeConsumer Co-operative
IndustryRetail (Wholesale)
Founded1969; 55 years ago (1969)[1]
HeadquartersCo-operative House,
Warwick Technology Park,
Gallows Hill,

Warwick,
Warwickshire,
England,
CV34 6DA[1]
Key people
Phil Ponsonby (CEO)
Products
RevenueIncrease £1.18 billion (18/19)[2]
Increase £7.18million (20/21)
MembersDecrease 640,989 (2022)[3]
Number of employees
Decrease 7,294 (2022)[3]
Websitemidcounties.coop

The Midcounties Co-operative Limited[4][a], trading as Your Co-op, is a consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom with over 700,000 members.[2] Registered in England under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, it is a member of Co-operatives UK and Federal Retail Trading Services.

The Society's principal activity is retailing in parts of the West Midlands, South West, and South East regions, however some of its businesses do trade nationally. Its trading groups are Food, Travel, Phone Co-op, Post Office, Childcare and Flexible Benefits. The society is also active in recruiting electricity and gas customers through its Co-op Energy brand, and in community-owned energy generation through a partnership with Octopus Energy.

The Midcounties Co-operative has its headquarters in Warwick, Warwickshire, with trading outlets in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Shropshire, the West Midlands, Worcestershire and the surrounding counties,[7] but also has a national trading presence through its Travel, Childcare, Phone Co-op and Flexible Benefits businesses.

As of 2019, Midcounties generated £1.5bn of sales and had over 500 trading sites. Trade with members as a proportion of total sales was 42%.[2]

The Midcounties Co-operative invests in the communities in which it trades through responsible trading, local sourcing, community projects and charitable work. In 2018/2019 Midcounties paid out £1.6million in community and charity giving, paying out £1.3 million to its members as a share of the profits.

In the last full year of trading, 2018/19, Midcounties recorded sales of £1.55bn (£1.48bn 2017/18) and an operating profit before exceptional items of £8.2m (£10.9m 2017/18). The Society had £39.2m in bank debt (£54.1m 2017/18) and a £41.3m (£48.5m 2017/18) pension deficit as at 26 January 2019. Society membership was over 700,000 in 2019, up 11% over the year and a 22% increase over a three-year period.[8]

The Society is run by a non-executive Board of 16 Directors, which is chaired by the Society's President. The members of the Board are elected directly by the members. The current President is Helen Wiseman.

  1. ^ a b "The Midcounties Co-operative Limited". Financial Conduct Authority. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b c 2018/19 Annual Report and Accounts (Report). Midcounties Co-operative. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Annual Return and Accounts.pdf". Financial Conduct Authority. 22 January 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Change of Name.pdf". Financial Conduct Authority. 24 September 2005. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Original Rules.pdf". Financial Conduct Authority. 30 March 1969. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Change of Name.pdf". Financial Conduct Authority. 21 May 1992. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  7. ^ "The Midcounties Co-operative Community Fund Criteria" (PDF). Midcounties Co-operative. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  8. ^ 2018/19 Annual Report and Accounts (Report). Midcounties Co-op. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.


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