Tamworth Co-op announces half-year trading surplus of £767k

The society said Covid-19 had continued to have a significant impact on its operations

Tamworth Co-op has announced a trading surplus of £767,000 for the half-year to 24 July, down from £831,000 the previous year.

Surplus before tax and distributions was £650,000, up from £590,000, while turnover held steady at £14.4m.

In their report to members, chair Robert Read and CEO Julian Coles said the Covid-19 pandemic had continued to have a significant impact on operations and thanked employees for their contributions under “extremely difficult conditions”.

The society saw a boost from its new convenience store in Dorden, which had replaced a smaller site and offset lower sales at other stores, which reported lower sales compared to those a year earlier when lockdown had sparked a surge in demand.

Funeral sales were similar to the previous year and property income has recovered, although it is still not at the levels enjoyed in 2019.

During the period, the society carried out significant refurbishments at its Lichfield store, with another to come at its Stretton Food site.

Tamworth is also preparing to move its head office, to a site it already owns, following the closure and sale of its department store and HQ on Colehill.