The proposed dividend bonus, one of the ways Lincolnshire Co-op shares its profits locally, is being put to the vote at Society’s members’ meetings (see Ed’s notes) in early November. If approved, it will be paid onto members’ dividend cards on Saturday 30^th November, on top of the £2.2m of dividend they’ve already collected this year – a total of £4.1m.

Although several surrounding villages have one of their stores, the company is currently building its first in Grantham on Springfield Road. It is due to open next spring.

It comes after a positive financial year for Lincolnshire Co-op. Total sales in the 53-week year to 7^th September 2019 were up 5.6% to £347m. Trading surplus of £15.5m was down by £2.2m on the previous exceptional year but was above budget.

Lincolnshire Co-op’s food stores saw customer numbers grow and sales rose by 8.4% to £208m – a record performance. Time-poor consumers, keen to save cash and reduce food waste, are increasingly turning their back on the so-called big shop, instead looking to pick up what they need, when they need it.

A ‘reduced to sell’ policy in food stores – which sees goods past their ‘best before’ date kept on sale at a significantly lower price – led to a 37% reduction in food waste.

Sales of Love Local products, sourced from business in Lincolnshire Co-op’s trading area, went up by 16% – worth £3.8m to the local economy.