Co-op’s underlying losses deepened in the first half of the year, as the stricken retailer struggled to regain its feet after the 2025 cyberattack and resultant leadership churn.
Characterised as a “year of two halves” by interim CEO Kate Allum, 2026’s first half saw underlying losses grow to £45m in the six months to 4 July 2026, up from £32m in H1 2025.
Revenues climbed just 2.4% to £5.6bn in the first half despite investment in promotion.
That revenue growth was measured against the first half of 2025, when revenues fell 2.1% from the cyberattack – meaning the first half of 2026 only just managed to restore revenues above their 2024 level.
Food revenues were up 2.6% to £3.7bn in the half.
“2026 is looking like a year of two halves for our Co-op,” said Allum.
“The first half was characterised by difficult markets and low consumer confidence, especially for food retail. Against those conditions, we made decisions to drive trade – investing in promotions and investing in our stores – while also mitigating rising costs. These things have had a short-term impact on profitability.”
However, the group beat an optimistic tune in its interim results this morning as it pointed to “improved” trading throughout the second quarter and into the second half of the year as consumer confidence picked up over the summer.
It said it had managed to hold its total cost base to 2% despite a £78m increase in headwinds, including an annualised increase in National Insurance payments, and had reduced its net debt from £317m at 2025 year-end to £239m. It dismissed the majority of its increased underlying loss for the half as “variance reflecting accounting treatment”.
Allum said the group was now seeing “bigger baskets and more transactions” in the second half.
“Conditions remain challenging, but we see reasons for confidence across our portfolio, having delivered strong growth in areas such as online convenience shopping and funerals. We expect to see a stronger performance in the second half than the first, with sales growth and improvements in profitability.
“Our immediate goal is to establish the firm foundations we need to realise greater growth in the years ahead – something we’re gearing up for as we progress our plans to join forces with Southern Co-op.”
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