Fast forward to today and the chief exec has turned the business around, guiding it to a £1m return to profit this year.

“We had a portfolio in the food and trading space that hadn’t been invested in or looked after,” Mr Rigby said, sitting in the offices of the East of England Co-op’s Ipswich headquarters.

“We hadn’t opened many new stores, we had become stagnant.”

Andy Rigby, CEO, East of England Co-op (Image: Ashley Pickering/Anglia Picture Agency) The Co-op operates 130 food stores, 50 funeral directors and 15 travel branches across the east of England.

It is one of the region’s largest employers, with more than 3,300 members of staff, and also boasts a 400-plus property portfolio.

This year’s £1m trading profit marks a £4.6m turnaround from 2024.

READ MORE: Co-op members to receive share of £1m after retailer returns to profit

“We have closed six branches, but we’ve opened more new stores than we’ve closed - opening in two new counties, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire, and now operating across five counties for the first time in our 155-year history,” continued Mr Rigby.

The East of England Co-op's new Woodbridge Road, Ipswich store, which opened in June (Image: Rob Howarth/Anglia Picture Agency) “We have also leased some of our supermarkets to Sainsbury’s and Tesco. These were big stores that we can’t really operate as a convenience retailer.

“There has also been a number of stores which we have moved to independent ownership. The beauty of that is we can transfer our colleagues over so people haven’t lost their jobs.”

“It’s been about efficiency using technology rather than cutting staff or hours.”

But despite celebrating a return to profit, rising costs continue to have an impact.

Increases to national insurance contributions alone will cost the East of England Co-op an extra £1m each year.

The East of England Co-op reopened its........

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