Co-op has reported a £206m revenue hit from a major cyber attack in the first half of 2025, with profitability also dented by around £80m. The group said its strong balance sheet enabled it to keep essential services running and continue investing in growth.
Group revenue for the 26 weeks to 5 July 2025 came in at £5.48bn, down 2.1 per cent year on year from £5.60bn. Excluding the cyber impact, revenues would have risen 1.5 per cent.
The Food division delivered revenue of £3.62bn, down 1.6 per cent from £3.68bn in 2024. Stripping out the disruption, sales would have grown 2.9 per cent. The Business-to-business arm, which includes wholesale supply, generated £1.65bn, a 3.9 per cent decline (–1.9 per cent excluding cyber impact). The Life Services division – covering funerals and insurance – outperformed expectations, rising 2.4 per cent to £210m, or 6.5 per cent excluding the cyber effect.
“The first half of 2025 brought significant challenges, most notably from a malicious cyber attack. Our balance sheet strength and the magnificent response of our 53,000 colleagues enabled us to maintain vital services for our members and their communities,” chair Debbie White said.
The incident forced the temporary shutdown of several systems, leading to operational disruption and additional costs. Despite this, Co-op prioritised rural ‘lifeline’ stores, kept funeral services operating, and offered members a £10 discount on a £40 shop as a thank-you for their patience.
“The cyber attack highlighted many of our strengths. But more importantly, it also highlighted areas we need to focus on - particularly in our Food business,” chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq, said. “We’ve already started on this journey, refining our member and customer proposition, making structural changes to our business, and setting our Co-op up for long-term success.”
Despite the disruption, the Co-op highlighted financial resilience, with net debt excluding leases reduced to £43m (down from nearly £1bn in 2021), liquidity of £800m, and a new £350m lending agreement extending debt cover through 2030.
Looking ahead, the retailer plans 30 new store openings in H2, the creation of a Group Commercial & Logistics Division, and fresh convenience initiatives. These include Served ready-to-cook meals, the rollout of more ‘On The Go’ microstores, and a health and wellbeing partnership with Holland & Barrett.