Central England Co-op invests over £10 million in new stores, funeral offices and refits during 2020 despite challenges of pandemic – over £1.8 million of which was in Leicestershire

Posted by james brindle | Published: 29/12/2020


Central England Co-operative has revealed it has invested over £10 million and created hundreds of jobs as part of major expansion plans during 2020 with over £1.8 million spent in Leicestershire – despite the challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Throughout the year the Society has opened eight new food stores, a new coffee shop and two new funeral booking offices as well as relaunching more than 25 food stores following a major refit programme.

The major development programme has seen investment in the following areas: Birmingham, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Warwickshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.

In Leicestershire, the Society has opened a new store in Donington Le Heath, revamped sites in Mountsorrel, Ratby and Thringstone, and launched a funeral booking office in Castle Donington - spending over £1.8 million in the process.

The new Oak Tree Corner store in Donington Le Heath offers shoppers an expansive range of products and is fitted out with pioneering new energy efficient refrigeration technologies and LED lighting to minimise environmental impact, while being powered by 100% renewable energy.

It also includes a free water refill station, phone charging area, indoor and outdoor seating and customer toilets.

Links have also been forged with the local community via inviting local school Hugglescote Community Primary School to design a special piece of artwork that has been installed on the outside of the store.

Store Manager Jonathan Bird said: “All of us here at Central England Co-operative food stores across our trading area are proud to be part of such great communities and are looking forward to welcoming all customers, old and new, to come and enjoy our new and revamped Food Stores.”

Despite a challenging 12 months as the Society’s funeral colleagues supported families in these uncertain times, Central England Co-op did invest in two new funeral booking offices, including one in Castle Donington.

Funeral Director Kate Spencer said: “Our first priority is to enhance memories and love for all of our families, and we are very pleased to offer that at our new funeral booking offices.

“We feel they reflect our commitment to providing excellent standards of care for our families during their time of bereavement.”

The Central England Co-op funeral booking offices and homes offer a 24-hour service, seven days a week.

The work throughout 2020 has been part of an ambitious development programme across the Society’s food and funeral business, with further investment planned during 2021.

 

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.

Co-operatives have always been there for their communities; they were formed to protect them and help them flourish.  

Our 7,900 colleagues who serve Members and customers work hard to ensure that co-operative values, principles and spirit flow through everything we do to help support and improve our local communities.

Owned by hundreds of thousands of Members, we have over 430 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. 

We are proud of our reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.

We invest a percentage of our trading profit into local communities through our Community Dividend Fund scheme, have donated over £1.4 million to our corporate charity partner Dementia UK and also operate a pioneering food redistribution partnership with FareShare Midlands so unsold food goes to those in need.

Visit www.centralengland.coop for more information or follow us on Facebook or Twitter using @mycoopfood

Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle

Phone - 01543 421390

Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop