The Co-operative Group today shares a trading update for 2025 – an atypical year where Co-op experienced:
- A criminal cyber attack, with an estimated £107m impact to profitability as the Group restricted its own systems.
- Changed shopper behaviour following the disruption, with transactions affected throughout the year in food stores.
- Evolving market dynamics, including health-led consumer behaviour shifts.
- Layered cost headwinds of circa £150m, including increases in regulatory and colleague costs.
Co-op’s strong balance sheet allowed the Group to withstand these challenges and adjust its strategy for the future:
- Responding to a changing convenience market, growing quick commerce business by 15%.
- Moving ahead as a portfolio of businesses, with Life Services growing 4% despite disruption.
- Resetting the Wholesale proposition as a multi-fascia provider.
- Launching a new Commercial and Logistics division as a major UK buying group.
- Investing £318m to support member and customer experience, including in technology and stores.
- Growing active member numbers by 17% to 7.2m, now setting a new target of 10m by 2030.
Co-op is recovering in 2026 with market share returning to or surpassing pre-attack levels in every business area.
Unaudited full-year performance
Co-op’s 2025 results are shaped by its response in the year to a criminal cyber attack, where the Group proactively restricted systems to contain the threat. This protective action had an estimated £285m direct impact on revenue and an estimated £107m impact to profitability, with £86m margin impact and £21m of incremental, non-recurring costs. The table below shows the variance both with and without this estimated impact to aid understanding of the Group’s underlying performance.
Performance measures | 2025 | 2024 | Var £/% | Var £/% Excluding estimated direct cyber impact |
Total group revenue | £11,025m | £11,279m | (2.3%) | 0.3% |
Underlying operating (loss) /profit | (£35m) | £131m | (£166m) | (£80m) |
Underlying (loss) / profit before tax | (£126m) | £45m | (£171m) | (£85m) |
Net debt excluding leases | (£317m) | (£55m) | (£262m) | (£155m) |
These results are unaudited; final audited results will be made available in Co-op’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2025. | ||||
- Revenue was down 2.3% year-on-year, reflecting the estimated direct cyber impact, lost trading momentum as the Group focused on recovery, a contracting convenience market and changing consumer behaviour.
- Excluding the estimated cyber impact, revenue was broadly flat year-on-year, with Life Services and Food Retail businesses demonstrating growth, offsetting Wholesale decline as Co-op continues to reset the proposition.
- Underlying operating loss of £35m includes estimated direct cyber impact of £86m, as well as an additional circa £150m in cost headwinds. These headwinds include regulatory costs of £47m, made up of National Insurance increases and new Extended Producer Responsibility charges, as well as investments in colleague pay.
- Co-op has continued to plan for the medium and long term, with capital investments of £318m in the year, including in stores and technology.
- Strong liquidity at the start of 2025 allowed Co-op to manage challenges. Net debt excluding leases has increased to £317m in the year; the Group expects this figure to improve in the first half of 2026 as a working capital impact unwinds.
Debbie White, chair of Co-op Group, said: “2025 was a challenging year, but those challenges have helped us reshape Co-op for the future. Despite a cyber attack and tough market conditions, our colleagues have shown incredible resilience, keeping communities served and essential services running. To get back on track, we have adjusted our commercial strategy and strengthened our partner offer while substantially growing active membership. Now, we’re looking ahead with a strong focus on customers, while continuing to prioritise the people who own our business, targeting ten million active members by 2030.”
Shirine Khoury-Haq, chief executive, added: “Trading conditions remain difficult and the current geopolitical landscape is adding further instability, but we have reasons for optimism. Including our own estate and partners, we supply close to 8,000 stores; our new Commercial and Logistics business is turning this strength as a supplier into a path to growth. Looking at our portfolio as a whole, our Life Services area – insurance, funerals, legal services – grew in 2025 despite disruption. We fundamentally reset our Wholesale business for partners, launching a fantastic new proposition, establishing significant relationships and building our future pipeline. The retail industry is still under pressure from rising costs and cautious consumers, but we’re adapting: growing our online convenience business, offering more to health-conscious shoppers and investing in stores. We’re confident in the road ahead.”
