Central England Co-op hosts visit from Lord Victor Adebowale

Posted by rob smyth | Published: 31/07/2018


Central England Co-operative hosted a visit from Lord Victor Adebowale to showcase its range of businesses and its work in the community.

Lord Adebowale spent the day with Society President Elaine Dean, Corporate Services Executive David Grady and Chief Executive Martyn Cheatle visiting the retailer’s Food Distribution Centre, in Leicester, and food bank and community partners in the area.

He then headed to Central England Co-op’s Business Support Centre, in Lichfield, to find out more about the success of one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. 

Lord Adebowale is the Chief Executive of charitable social enterprise Turning Point Health & Social Care.

He is involved in several independent commissions advising governments on a range of subjects from mental health to the role of the voluntary sector.

Lord Adebowale is also an Independent Non-Executive Director of Co-operative Group and Non-Executive Director of NHS England.

Chief Executive Martyn Cheatle said: “We were delighted to extend an invitation to Lord Adebowale to visit us.

“Central England Co-operative is one of the largest and most successful independent co-operative societies and we are always proud to showcase our work to honoured guests such as Lord Adebowale.”

Society President Elaine Dean said: “I was proud to be able to take Lord Adebowale on a tour of the Society’s current key projects, including our pioneering food waste distribution programme.

“It was great to be able to also learn from Lord Victor’s knowledge, experience and vision and see how we can continue to work closely together in the future.”

 

Notes to editors

Picture caption: Corporate Services Executive David Grady, Lord Victor Adebowale, Society President Elaine Dean and Society Secretary Jim Watts.

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. 

 

It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with the Society’s principal areas of activity being food, funeral services, travel shops, and property investment.

 

Central England Co-operative has over 400 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.  The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2018.

 

Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports a number of charities including Dementia UK and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.

 

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.

Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop

 

For more information visit www.centralengland.coop, follow Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative

 

Rob Smyth / Heather Clapton at Central England Co-operative on 01543 414140

 

Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop