£38m divi payout for Co-op members

The Co-operative Group is set to pay out a £38.1 million dividend to members this year.

The group – which covers the co-operative bank as well as supermarkets, pharmacies and funeral services – will divide the dividend among its 2.5 million members.

The dividend pay-out is up 94 per cent from last year as profits rose 35 per cent to £322.7 million for the year to January 12.

The payout will be the equivalent of 2.63p for each point earned by Co-op customer members, which are earned for each pound spent in the group.

Some £550 million of the dividends will go to charity, as members choose to give up their payout.