Co Operative Massive Debts

[emmie]

this is quite astonishing, had no idea they had their fingers in so many pies

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/coop-group-to-sell-farms-ahead-of-2bn-loss-9153806.html

[FredPuli43]

The farms total just over 17,000 hectares. That's 42,000 acres, nearly all arable.They have 200 employees on the farms That's modern farming for you; a farmer of arable could farm 3,000 acres with a permanent staff of three.

And that's a fair bit of value. Agricultural land fetches £8,000, sometimes as much as £15,000, an acre. Add in the farmhouses and the working buildings and you have a tidy sum. And there will be no shortage of buyers; trusts, pension funds, very rich individuals, have pushed prices up a lot in recent years. The great benefit to the private buyer is 100 per cent relief on inheritance tax, but land is seen as a good refuge investment at any time

[emmie]

pretty much the way property prices in the capital have risen, private foreign buyers, investors, buying up whole buildings, and selling the apartments often sight unseen, for mega bucks, no wonder you can't get a fair rent here.
Then why doesn't the government step in and stop the land that the Co op
owns from going to some rich investor.

[jno]

yes, I saw someone the other day describing London real estate as an international reserve currency. But I don't see how the governmetn can tell you who not to sell it to.

[emmie]

i was referring to the land that the co op hold, surely if it's viable land for agriculture, then it should stay that way.

[jno]

only if someone wants to buy it for agriculture. If thhey don't, and no farmers want to buy it, it can only be sold by dropping the price; and that won't help the Co-Op

[emmie]

i would hate to see good arable land go for other uses, its a terrible shame we import as much food as we do, still as you say not much they can do, if they need to get rid.

[factor-fiction]

I doubt it could be sold for building on if that's the worry, emmie.

[emmie]

perhaps, what a pity for all the employees who are going to lose their jobs, not just those on the land.

[jno]

the supermarkets dominate buying of fresh produce but they reject 40% of it because it doesn't look nice

http://www.fruitnet.com/fpj/article/159419/two-fifths-of-produce-rejected-by-supermarkets

Who'd be a farmer on those terms? If the only person who wants to buy a farm is an Arab who wants to use it for breeding horses, better for everyone if they let him.

[mazie]

That's criminal jno... why are we so bloody obsessed with perfection ?

[emmie]

the supermarkets are at fault in many ways, i know that, an article i was reading said just how much food one of them throws out per day, its criminal.

[emmie]

perhaps we are not, the supermarket buyers may be.

[factor-fiction]

I'm not sure I follow your argument there, Bouncer, but anyway, the "millions of pounds paid in Bankers' bonuses " were contractual obligations, and the government does tax them, usually at 45%.
The government could step in regarding the land issue but I doubt it will- why should it buy land from the Co-op? What would it do with it- employ civil servant farmers or let theland go to ruin?

[ladybirder]

They could cut what they give to the Labour Party to save a bit of money:-)

The Co-op store near me closes in a couple of weeks and then re-opens a month later as Waitrose. All the staff are being taken on by Waitrose and they seem very pleased about it.

[emmie]

LB that is at least some good news.

[Tilly2]

What's going to happen to my divi?

[emmie]

no idea, perhaps there is something in the link in the post.

[factor-fiction]

Although they give you a share of the profits in the profitable years the good news is that you as a member don't have to pay a share of the £2 billion loss

[emmie]

blimey.