Central England Co-op invests over £10 million in new stores, funeral offices and refits during 2020 despite challenges of pandemic – over £3 million of which was in Lichfield

Posted by james brindle | Published: 29/12/2020


Central England Co-operative has revealed it has invested over £10 million and created hundreds of jobs as part of major expansion plans during 2020 with over £3 million in Lichfield alone – despite the challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Throughout the year the Society has opened eight new food stores, a new coffee shop and two new funeral booking offices as well as relaunching more than 25 food stores following a major refit programme.

The major development programme has seen investment in the following areas: Birmingham, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Warwickshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.

The Society, which has its headquarters in Hermes Road, launched a new flagship store in Boley Park following a £3 million investment and also spent £122,000 upgrading its store in Curborough Road.

In November, the ribbon was cut on the brand-new Boley Park store which saw the retailer debut a number of ‘firsts’ for the Society such as a special zero waste refill station that allows shoppers to only buy what they need and cut down on food packaging and waste.

The project also included a brand-new petrol station, a redesigned car park including wider spaces, better traffic flow and improved lighting and walkways, new trees and planters, a new car wash, electric charging points for cars and a bike repair station.

The Society’s other Lichfield Food Store in Curborough Road also saw significant investment with brand new external signage installed to give it a more modern, fresher look and other changes included the installation of a new free hot and cold water refill station, new internal signage and decoration and a new kiosk installed.

Boley Park Store Manager Jamie Joyce said: “All of us here at Central England Co-operative food stores across our trading area are proud to be part of such great communities and are looking forward to welcoming all customers, old and new, to come and enjoy our new and revamped food stores.”

Despite a challenging 12 months as the Society’s funeral colleagues supported families in these uncertain times, Central England Co-op did invest in two new funeral booking offices.

The Central England Co-op funeral booking offices and homes offer a 24-hour service, seven days a week.

The work throughout 2020 has been part of an ambitious development programme across the Society’s food and funeral businesses, with further investment planned during 2021.

 

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.

Co-operatives have always been there for their communities; they were formed to protect them and help them flourish.  

Our 7,900 colleagues who serve Members and customers work hard to ensure that co-operative values, principles and spirit flow through everything we do to help support and improve our local communities.

Owned by hundreds of thousands of Members, we have over 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. 

We are proud of our reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.

We invest a percentage of our trading profit into local communities through our Community Dividend Fund scheme, have donated over £1.4 million to our corporate charity partner Dementia UK and also operate a pioneering food redistribution partnership with FareShare Midlands so unsold food goes to those in need.

Visit www.centralengland.coop for more information or follow us on Facebook or Twitter using @mycoopfood

Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle

Phone - 01543 421390

Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop