Central England Co-op

More stores and investment are planned for the Central England Co-operative group

Central England Co-operative is preparing its next raft of store openings after ploughing more than £15m into the business to enhance the customer shopping experience last year.

New stores are planned in Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire; Kings Norton, Worcestershire; Market Deeping, Lincolnshire; Barnsley, South Yorkshire; Derby in the East Midlands; and several other sites to be confirmed.

Last year’s investment included expenditure on eight new food stores and the relaunch of more than 20 convenience outlets.

The society said the major development programme had seen individual areas such as Leicestershire and Derbyshire receive more than £2m investment, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire more than £1.5m, and Cambridgeshire nearly £1m.

The new stores featured “the latest in pioneering new energy-efficient refrigeration technologies to minimise environmental impact, and LED lighting” the co-op said.

The work throughout the year had been part of what the organisation said was an ambitious food store and funeral home development programme, with further investment planned during 2018.