Midlands Co-operative Society

Midlands Co-operative Society Limited

Type	Consumer Co-operative
Industry	Retail (Wholesale)
Fate	Merged with Anglia Regional Co-operative Society
Successor	Central England Co-operative
Headquarters	Midlands House, Hermes Road, Lichfield, Staffs. WS13 6RH, United Kingdom
Area served	English Midlands
Key people	John Maltby, President Martyn Cheatle, Chief Executive
Products	Grocer, Travel Agent, Funeral Director, Car Dealership
Revenue	£670m (2013)
Members	999,184 (2013)
Number of employees	7,500 (2013)
Website	midlands.coop

Midlands Co-operative Society Limited was the second largest consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. It was a registered Industrial and Provident Society, a member of the Co-operative Union, the Co-operative Retail Trading Group and a corporate member of The Co-operative Group (formerly Co-operative Wholesale Society), the largest consumer co-operative in the world. The Society had a wide-ranging and extensive portfolio with over 200 stores, principally trading in the English Midlands. Head office was located in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

On 19 September 2013, it was announced that the boards of Midlands Co-operative Society and Anglia Regional Co-operative Society had agreed merger terms. Approved by members on 4 and 18 November, legal completion of the merger took place on 1 December, with the Anglia Society transferring engagements to Midlands Co-operative. On 15 January 2014, members of the merged society approved a change of name to Central England Co-operative effective from 25 January 2014.

The Society traced its origins to the Derby Co-operative Provident Society which, in 1854, was one of the first co-operatives in the Midlands. In 1969, a number of Leicestershire societies merged to form the Leicestershire Co-operative Society. Similar circumstances occurred in 1985 across Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Birmingham forming the Central Midlands Co-operative Society. In 1995, the boards of the Leicestershire and Central Midlands societies, which were financially sound and trading profitably, agreed to merge. Since 1854, 72 separate mergers between different societies were undertaken to form the Midlands Co-operative.