The Co-op Group is planning to take over Southern Co-op in a deal that would add hundreds of food and funeral shops to the retail giant’s chain.
Southern Co-op is based in Portsmouth and operates mainly across the south of England, including in Hampshire and Dorset, under its Food and Welcome brands.
Proposals, which would need members’ approval, would bring Southern Co-op’s 300,000 members into the seven million strong Co-op Group, as well as its roughly 300 food, funeral and Starbucks coffee branches.
Co-op Group will also gain its three crematoriums under the deal, adding to its existing funeral services.
