Investments for growth

A significant programme of investment is underway at Lincolnshire Co-op, as the community retailer looks to ensure future growth in a challenging market.

In the first six months of the society’s financial year, (from September 7th 2025 to 7th March 2026), over £21m of capital expenditure has taken place. This has included funding the introduction of electronic shelf-edge labels in all food stores, as well as the start of a project which will see food outlets fitted with self-service checkouts.

The shelf edge labels improve customer experience, save paper, and enable the food teams to focus on other tasks, while self-checkouts will give shoppers an additional choice alongside tills staffed by food colleagues.

Other major investments since September include opening a new food store in Donington and revamps of ten outlets, including food stores, post offices and funeral homes. The society is also continuing to invest in systems and IT.

The half year has been challenging, with economic uncertainty, rising costs, and world events having an impact.

Turnover has dipped by 1.2% to £185.6m, with decreases seen in food, funeral, travel and property. Total net assets have remained strong at £302.7m.

The society’s trading profit – EBITDA – has held up well at £5.4m, but is down from the last half year by 35.1%. This has been boosted by a one-off insurance payment, relating to the supply chain issues faced by the independent co-op following the cyber-attack on the Co-op Group, which leads the buying group.

So far this year, Lincolnshire Co-op’s members have received over £1m in cashback on their purchases when using their dividend cards. The society will be investing in more opportunities for members to boost their cashback over the summer.

The co-op also runs a variety of community support programmes, such as Wellbeing Walks, which give people a chance to get active with volunteer-led strolls, and Community Cuppas, which encourage people to make connections in their local area.

Two new Wellbeing Walks and four new Community Cuppas have been set up this half year, bringing the total number of regular events to 96 walks and 40 cuppas.

Local worthy causes and charities have shared in £181,928 raised by the co-op’s Community Champions scheme, with 215 groups benefitting from the programme.

Lincolnshire Co-op’s Chief Executive Alison Hands said: “As a co-op, we need to invest in our business to ensure that we are sustainable in the long-term, as well as sharing benefits with our members and giving back to our communities.

“The last six months have been tough, with economic uncertainty and the unstable geo-political climate, and this is impacting on businesses across the UK, including ours.

“Our major investments will help us build sales back in food and develop new areas of our business in housing and healthcare.

“We will also need to be rigorous on costs and in all our activities, balance profitability, long-term sustainability and alignment with our purpose of making life better in communities.”