Co-Op Members Share Pounds 158,000

By DAVID JONES Business Corres

CO-OPERATIVE Group members in North Wales are to share a pounds 158,000 dividend payout for the half year under a newprofits scheme.

Payments of up to pounds 175 will be made by the consumer-owned group to almost 19,000 members in the region who qualify as a reward for their custom.

Mark Robinson-Field, the group's Welshpool-based secretary in Wales, said: "Last yearwas a good one for the groupas awhole and, following the launch of our newmembership scheme, for the first time members can reap the rewards of our success across our diverse family of businesses."

The scheme offers members a share of profits based on the products and services they have bought from the group's businesses including food retail, travel, pharmacy and funeral outlets, as well as the Cooperative Bank, Co-operative Insurance and the online store Coop Electrical Shop.

Payments are made under the new-style membership scheme twice a year, in June and December.

Members earns points, for example, according to how much they hold or have borrowed in Co-operative Bank current or credit card accounts, howmuch they have in savings accounts or have outstanding on a Co-operative Bank mortgage or loan accounts, or for taking out home or car insurance with Co-operative Insurance. The value of amembership point is determined by how much profit the group makes that year.

It means that a shopper who spent pounds 10 a week on food shopping in Co-op stores during 2006will receive pounds 7.43 over the course of the year, while a mortgage holder with an outstanding pounds 50,000 mortgage would be entitled to a dividend worth pounds 35.75.

Local charities andworthy causes in North Wales are to benefit to the tune of almost pounds 8,000 through the group's community fund.

The Co-op posted pre-tax profits of pounds 318m during 2006, of which the dividend payment across the UK represents 6.2%.

The group has more than3,000 UK outlets including 26 food stores in North Wales.

The green firms

THE Co-op was yesterday named the greenest high street retailer while Somerfield came bottom of the ranking of 10 companies.

The companies' carbon and waste emissions were assessed for BBC2's The Money Programme.

The Co-op releases pounds 324 worth of carbon and waste for every pounds 1m of its turnover. Somerfield releases more than treble that amount at pounds 1,194 per pounds 1m of turnover.

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