LONDON, March 26, 2026, 12:31 GMT
Co-op Chief Executive Shirine Khoury-Haq will step down on March 29 after four years in the job, with board member Kate Allum taking over on an interim basis while the group looks for a successor. The change comes after a bruising year for the member-owned British retailer, marked by a cyberattack, weaker sales and renewed questions over culture at the top. 1
The timing matters. Co-op said 2025 revenue fell 2.3% to 11 billion pounds and it swung to an underlying operating loss — a measure of core trading performance — of 35 million pounds from a 131 million pound profit a year earlier. The group put the cyberattack hit at 285 million pounds of revenue and 107 million pounds of profitability, and said it plans to strip out 200 million pounds of annual operating costs in 2026. 2
It is doing that in a darker market. A British Retail Consortium survey published on Thursday showed households’ view of the economy and their own finances at the weakest since the poll began in 2024, while a Confederation of British Industry survey this week showed retail sales falling at the fastest pace since April 2020. 3
Khoury-Haq said Co-op was ready for a strategy of “stabilisation and transformation” but that the next phase needed leadership for longer than she had planned. Chair Debbie White thanked her for steering the business through “challenging few years”, and Allum called it a “privilege” to step in at such an important time. 4
Her departure also follows reports last month that senior managers had written to board members alleging a “toxic” culture and “fear and alienation” in the upper ranks. Khoury-Haq told the Guardian on Thursday that her resignation was “very much a personal decision” and not driven by those claims, while Co-op has said the criticism did not reflect the views of its broader leadership. 5
Pressure on food retail is wider than Co-op. Morrisons warned on Wednesday that it too was watching the Iran war’s effect on consumer confidence and supply chains, a sign that rising energy costs and fragile demand are spreading across British grocers. 6
But the turnaround could still slip. Next said on Thursday it might have to raise prices by June if disruption tied to the Middle East conflict persisted, and KPMG said worries over grocery and energy bills were already prompting some British consumers to cut spending or delay major purchases. 7
For now, the board is betting on continuity. Allum is due to take over on March 30, and Co-op said it would publish audited full-year results ahead of its May 16 annual meeting as it tries to steady a group that spans more than 2,300 food stores, around 800 funeral homes, insurance and legal services. 1
