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

[emmie]

how many will lose their jobs, or their livelihoods.

[sherrardk]

They own apple farms around here.

[pixie373]

Well, we spend about a million a week in there. I haven't seen anything about jobs or what they're doing next.

[emmie]

pixie you should read the link.

[emmie]

a million, really x

[emmie]

The Co-op is to sell its farming assets and will consider the future of its pharmacy business as part of plans to revive the troubled mutual.

The group, which is reportedly set to announce losses of £2 billion in results for 2013 due next month, has started the process of selling the agriculture business, which features 15 farms and three packing sites.

[sherrardk]

I got a letter from their banking division today, thanking me sticking with them through their tough times (didn't read it all though).

[Zeuhl]

I've known the CEO for years ever since he was a Director at Superdrug.

He is a good man and very capable but the long-term misdemeanors of their banking division has ruined the entire group and threatens to damage good businesses that were considered gilt edged such as the funeral and farming businesses.

Very sad indeed.

[pixie373]

Yes, sorry, emmie. I was just reading it. I didn't realise they had so much!

[factor-fiction]

It's not really debts, but it is a huge loss. The man factors were the Bank's losses due primarily to writing off of bad debts from the Britannia Building Society which it took over a few years ago and the writing down of the value of the Somerfield stores it purchased a few years ago too. The Coop clearly overstretched itself a few years ago and made some poor strategic decisions.
The farming business looks enormous but according to the news it employs only 200 people so I'm not sure how big it really is and how much can be raised.

[emmie]

BBC
Job cuts

Over four years, Co-op Group is planning to cut running costs by £500m, of which it has already identified £100m of savings.

To achieve these cuts, I am told there will be thousands of job losses, probably between 4,000 and 5,000 by 2017, especially in head office and in support positions.

But Mr Sutherland and his board colleagues have yet to calculate precisely how many jobs will go, and he is not expected to give details for some weeks yet.

[emmie]

its 15 farms, perhaps not huge employee losses, but that is lost production, and who knows what happens to the land?

[BRIGHT SPARK]

The new £130.000.000 offices in Manchester look nice!

[emmie]

crikey.

[jno]

B00 may see her bonus slashed.

[emmie]

almost as good as our council building themselves a new home, costing many millions, and installing 130k artworks to adorn the place, not sure if that is one painting or more, but where do they get the dosh i wonder.

[factor-fiction]

The new Coop building looks an extravagant folly now. I think they were overly confident (cocky?) about their future following the takeovers of Somerfield and Britannia, their comandeering of the previously separate insurance and banking divisions and the proposed takeover of Lloyds.

[emmie]

haven't we seen this over and over, company takes on another, but doesn't look to see how viable it really is, that is simplistic, but that happened to the last company i worked for, that got too big for their boots and lost the lot, over 4 thousand employees went west.

[factor-fiction]

Correct. The problem is, the people who organise the takeover, plus their highly paid consultant advisers, claim it will deliver fantastic benefits, then they take their huge bonuses and disappear/retire before the truth comes to light a few years later

[emmie]

ours happened over a relatively short space of time, they bought out five companies in the same field, and then went on a spending spree, calmly forgetting that those were largely loss making.