Co-op Group plans sell-off as heads for its worst-ever loss
THE Co-operative Group said yesterday it was selling its farming business and looking at offloading its pharmacies after a banking crisis that has sent its losses spiralling to the worst levels in its 170-year history.
The sales are part of a restructuring at the member-owned group, rocked in the past year by the discovery of a £1.5bn capital hole in its banking arm and a drugs scandal involving ex-chairman, Methodist minister Paul Flowers.
The Co-op said it was looking to shed non-core assets such as its 15 farms and 750 pharmacies to shore up its finances.
News of the divestments came as the BBC reported that the Co-op would post a loss of over £2bn for 2013, the worst in its history, when it releases its results on 26 March, and cut up to 5,000 jobs in the next three years to slash costs.
Citing sources, the BBC said the losses stemmed mainly from its banking unit together with a reduction in the value of the stores and goodwill it acquired in a £1.6bn deal in 2009 to take over the Somerfield grocery chain.
A Co-op spokeswoman declined to comment on the BBC report.