Loss-making Co-op to sell off farming assets which began in Shropshire
The Co-op is to sell farming assets that first started in Shropshire and will consider the future of its pharmacy business as part of plans to revive the troubled mutual.
The group, which is reportedly set to announce losses of £2 billion in results for 2013 due next month, has started the process of selling the agriculture business, which features 15 farms and three packing sites.
While it has no current sites in Shropshire, its first ever farm was purchased at Roden, between Telford and Shrewsbury, in 1896.
The Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) bought the Roden farm with the primary purpose of growing potatoes and other crops for local Co-operative Society food stores. The 714 acres that formed the Roden estate were purchased for £30,000, a large investment at that time.
But today the farm enterprise is not considered a core business to the Co-op as it supplies only a small proportion of the food sold in its stores.
The pharmacy business, which was established in 1945, has felt the brunt of attempts by the Government to cut back on the cost of prescriptions.
The Co-op said today: "As part of the wider strategic review of all of its businesses, The Co-operative Group has decided that its farms are non-core and has started a process that is expected to lead to a sale of the business.
"In addition, it is exploring options for the future of the pharmacy business; this could include the sale in whole or part of the business."
The company's results are due on March 26 but chief executive Euan Sutherland is unlikely to reveal full details of his turnaround plan until nearer the group's annual meeting in May.
