East of England Co-op announces £2.0m profit, increasing for the third year running

'Proudly independent’ regional co-operative hails shift from ‘business in transformation’ to ‘business in growth’, despite challenging year 

• East of England Co-op announces underlying trading profit of £2.0m for 2025, up £1.0m from last year 
• Across 2025 the local retailer has also: 
• Reduced tCo2e emissions by 25% 
• Supported 775 community groups and local charities through its community programmes, winning ‘Community Retailer of the Year – Multiple' at the Retail Industry Awards 
• Opened its first fully cashless store at Ipswich Train Station – recognised as one of 25 ‘stores of future’ worldwide by Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) 
• Opened five new Food stores and two new Travel branches 
• Introduced a range of new benefits and invested in high quality targeted learning and training for its 3,000+ colleagues 

Andy Rigby, Chief Executive Officer for the East of England Co-op reflects on 2025: “Over the 45 years I’ve been in the retail business, last year was one of the most challenging I’ve experienced in the food retail space. But, against the odds, we’ve delivered an underlying trading profit of £2.0m.” 

Speaking of one of the year’s big challenges, Andy said: “We were faced with the impact of the cyber incident on Co-op Group, affecting deliveries to our stores, however our incredible local suppliers and colleagues came together brilliantly to minimise the impact to our customers. The way we weathered this storm to deliver a 100% increase in profit is testament to our resilience. We’re a proudly independent local retailer, deeply committed to serving communities in the place we call home, the East of England.” 

James Norman, Chief Finance Officer for the East of England Co-op said: “We’re operating in a difficult retail trading environment. This is a nationwide challenge driven by rising operating costs in areas such as business rates, employment costs and energy prices as well as global economic uncertainty. 

“We’ve worked hard this year to offset these challenges with measures such as careful investment in our property portfolio and a continued strategic focus on the right products in our Food business.” 

Addressing the retailer’s significant fall in emissions Andy said: “Thanks to carefully planned and executed sustainability measures, which are integrated into every part of our business, we’re proud to have achieved an outstanding 25% fall in tCO2e emissions.” 

In 2025 the East of England Co-op was awarded Community Retailer of the Year – Multiple at the Retail Industry Awards. Discussing the importance of the local retailer’s community support Andy said: “Making a difference in our communities is who we are and it’s what we’ve been doing for over 155 years. This year we’ve been able to support 775 community groups and local charities through our community programmes. I’m particularly proud of how we’re able to support causes that are hyper-local to our stores. Through Local Giving, in which our colleagues are empowered to fundraise for local charities of their choice, we were able to donate over £120,000 to local charities. 

“Our Community Cares Fund, established in 2020, continues to award grants to life changing local projects addressing community cohesion and integration. We were proud to award 73 of these grants this year.”  

Addressing the East of England Co-op’s plans to maintain its profit growth Andy said: “The strategy we’re following is working and we’re going to keep focusing our investment where we see the greatest long-term impact. This includes supporting new store openings, further investment in our existing sites, and bringing forward new innovative business ventures.” 

Looking ahead to the rest of 2026, Andy said: “A key priority for us next year will be expanding and evolving our membership proposition, focusing on delivering a more personalised offer that truly benefits our current members as well as attracting new ones.” 

Andy continued: “I’m absolutely committed to serving our local community and I’d like to take this opportunity to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has contributed to the growth of our co-op throughout 2025. I’d like to specifically thank our members and customers for trusting us with your business and for your continued support - we really appreciate it and are proud to be of service to you now and in the future.” 

A full breakdown of the East of England Co-op’s audited figures is now available online here.