Celebrating 20 Years of The Midcounties Co-operative 🎉
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Published 1 Sep 2025 in Colleagues
This September, we’re celebrating 20 years of The Midcounties Co-operative - two decades of growth, innovation and doing good together! Throughout the month, we’ll share exclusive member deals, honour our incredible colleagues, and reflect on the positive impact we’ve made in our communities and beyond.
From those beginnings to becoming one of the UK’s largest independent co-operatives, our journey has always been about people: our colleagues, our members, and the communities we serve.
We were formed when the Oxford, Swindon and Gloucester Co-op and the West Midlands Co-op joined forces to deliver better value for our members and greater impact for our communities.
And this is what we’ve seen over the last 20 years, as we’ve grown to become a £1.5 billion business, with over 750,000 members, 6,000 colleagues and 410 sites.
Read our Timeline here...
1844 saw the birth of the first successful retail co-operative, started by the Rochdale Pioneers. They opened their humble shop on Toad Lane, Rochdale, with the aim of supplying quality goods at fair prices to help fund their own community.
Just over 40 years later, 1,400 societies had been set up across the UK. By the end of the 19th century, the Midlands was home to dozens of small co-operatives including Swindon (1853), Gloucester (1860), Kidderminster (1865), Chipping Norton (1866), Oxford (1872) and Cinderford (1874), Wolverhampton (1885) and Walsall (1886).
As societies began to merge, the late 20th century saw the creation of two major consumer co-operatives - Oxford, Swindon and Gloucester, and West Midlands. In 2005, they came together to form the Society we know today, The Midcounties Co-operative.
Celebrating Our 20th Anniversary: Extra Day Off
As part of our 20th anniversary celebrations, and as announced at the AGM earlier this year, all colleagues now have an additional day off to mark this special milestone. This day has already been added to your account and can be taken as part of this year’s annual leave allocation.
Let's start the celebrations with some anniversary member offers…
Save 20% off Co-op own brand favourites
To kick off our celebrations, enjoy 20% off our top 20 own brand products including your favourite fruits, drinks & meal essentials. This offer is valid from 31/08/25 to 06/09/25 so pop in-store now!
For more information click here.
Sail with Up to £300 On-Board Credit – Limited Time!
Book your Fred.Olsen cruise by 24th September and enjoy up to £300 per cabin to spend on board. With over 100 sailings to choose from, you could chase the Northern Lights or soak up Mediterranean sunshine – all with extra spending money to make your journey even more memorable.
Book your trip here.
Get £100 per person off your next Cruise adventure with Co-op Holidays!
Save £100 per person on any Cruise & Stay or Cruise & Fly package when you book online at cooptravel.co.uk or in your local Your Co-op Travel branch.
Simply book between 1st and 30th September 2025 and use your exclusive member code CRUISE100 at checkout online, or quote it when speaking to one of our expert travel agents in branch.
T&Cs apply*
Book your trip here.
Save, connect and celebrate – Your Co-op Mobile
To celebrate our 20th, we're offering 100GB for only £20 p/m to help you keep in touch with your loved ones, connect with old friends, and develop new relationships, for less.
Save £3 every month on a 30 day rolling contract, with Unlimited Mins & Texts, Superfast 5G and new eSIM to get you up and running straight away.
Find out more here.
Happy 20 years with 20% off! – Your Co-op Broadband
To celebrate, we're giving you 20% off all Superfast Broadband!
Speed you'll need, at a price you love. Save up to £312 on Ultrafast Broadband throughout your contract, with Superfast Broadband prices from as low as £28 a month.
Find out more here.
£20 Food Voucher when you switch – Your Co-op Energy
Community has been at the heart of Your Co-op for the past 20 years. In celebration of 20 amazing years, for a limited time only, you can get a £20 Food Voucher when you join Your Co-op Energy.
Power your home with purpose, thanks to excellent value 100% zero carbon energy with our Fixed and Flexible Tariffs, or switch to the UK's only tariff powered with 100% community run renewable energy, owned by local people supplying power for all with our Community Power Tariff.
Find out more here.
Look out for our special colleague stories, featuring several remarkable colleagues who have reached 20 years.
Happy 20th Birthday, Midcounties! 🎂