Articles in Business

CO-OPERATIVE Group Pharmacy has completed two major acquisitions to take its total branch network to 429. The chain has bought 30 pharmacies, mostly in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, from Gordon Davis (Chemists) Limited and ten branches in the North East from Raygale Chemists Limited. The two deals, for undisclosed amounts, make Co-operative Group Pharmacy the UK's fourth largest chain, behind Boots, Lloydspharmacy and Alliance UniChem, trading as Moss Chemists. ...

THE question of whether the Co-op should take on the likes of Tesco Personal Finance and Sainsbury's Bank in the retail financial services market was discussed at a well-attended seminar. Craig Shannon, executive director business management at CFS gave an overview of the existing market with Tesco Personal Finance, Sainsbury's Bank, Marks & Spencer and Asda being the main players. They all offer a portfolio of products typically including credit cards, savings, loans, mortgages, ...

CO-OPERATIVE Commission chairman John Monks is urging retail societies to sign up to the new brand concept unveiled at Congress last month. In a letter published in the next edition of Co-operative News (available from Tuesday June 13th), the former TUC General Secretary - who now heads the Brussels-based European Trade Union Confederation - reminds the UK Movement that the development of a national brand strategy was a "cornerstone recommendation" of the Commission's 2001 report.

THE Co-operative Bank turned away £ 10m of business for ethical reasons last year, according to its annual profitability analysis. The value of the business lost to the Bank due to ethical and ecological reasons was worth £ 9.9m at the end of 2005, compared with £ 8.7m the previous year. However the analysis also shows that a third (34 per cent) of the Bank's £ 96.5m pre-tax profit last year can be attributed to its ethical and sustainability policies.