Central Co-op to sell 19 ‘unsustainable’ stores, including three to B&M

Central Co-op is offloading 19 “unsustainable” food stores, including three that will be leased to B&M Retail.

The other 16 stores will be sold to independent convenience chain Samy Limited, which owns 32 stores with Budgens, Spar, Londis and Premier.

Central Co-op said it was confident affected colleagues would be provided with alternative employment opportunities.

“It’s always difficult to sell any store but what we’re constantly doing is looking at the financial viability, and these stores had been struggling for some time,” CEO Debbie Robinson told The Grocer. “We didn’t see the growth potential to justify capital expenditure for investment.”

The stores being leased to B&M are in Cromer in Norfolk, Erdington in the West Midlands, and Shepshed in Leicestershire. Samy’s is buying Central Co-op stores located in areas including South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, and Cambridgeshire.

The transfer is set to be completed within six months. It would leave the society with 241 stores, including five new ones it acquired this year, Robinson said.

Central Co-op has also been undergoing a major regeneration programme with a focus on sustainability and green energy, including the rollout of ESLs and solar panels.

It has spent £8.1m upgrading 20 food stores this year alone.

The society has also invested £8.3m in 2024 to increase its range of member offers to help customers through the cost of living crisis, marking a 60% higher investment on last year.

Robinson said: “We’re committed to putting the welfare of our colleagues first when making these tough choices.

“Any decision to sell or close our stores follows an extensive period of careful appraisal, and enables the society to redirect resources into future growth and further improvements across the business for our members, customers and colleagues.”