On the 19 August 2008, the board of the society agreed to propose the transfer of the society's engagements to the much larger Co-operative Group.[5] The proposed transfer was considered by Lothian Borders & Angus members at a series of meetings in the autumn and, with a majority of the membership in favour of the proposal, the transfer of engagements took place on 13 December 2008.[6]
History
Lothian Co-op was the direct successor of nineteenth and early twentieth century consumer co-operatives in its trading area, the oldest being in the border towns of Galashiels and Hawick.
The Galashiels co-operative was formed by a mill workers' association that was already operating along similar lines.
The Hawick and Galashiels co-operatives were formed in 1839, five years before the Rochdale Pioneers shop opened in England.
Therefore, Lothian Co-op was, at the time of merger, probably the oldest continuously trading consumer co-operative in Scotland.[7][8][9]
Tranent Co-operative Society was formed in 1862, and took the name East Lothian in 1940
Through 1991, the Galashiels co-operative expanded through mergers to serve the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway regions. In 1992, Border Regional Co-operative Society merged with East Lothian Co-operative Society (based in Tranent), becoming Lothian and Borders Co-operative Society. In 1998, it absorbed East Angus Co-operative Society of Arbroath, taking its final name and structure.[10]
The Industrial Revolution flooded Scotland's mill and mining towns with workers, whose co-operatives thrived
In the early 21st century, growth continued through new construction and acquisitions from other grocers. New construction included a supermarket in Castle Douglas, and purchases included a former SPAR store in North Berwick, a filling station in Lauder, and, notably, nine convenience stores sold by Somerfield in 2006, Lothian Co-op's first operation in Aberdeenshire.[4]
Operations
Lothian Co-op was a regional co-operative, formed by the gradual amalgamation of numerous local co-operatives.
Operating 52 food stores in southern and eastern Scotland, as well as pharmacies, funeral services, post offices, petrol stations, and a furnishings store in Selkirk,
it was the smaller of Scotland's two regional consumer co-operatives until 2008, the larger being Scotmid, and one of four altogether.
Lothian Co-op was a member (customer owner) of The Co-operative Group, sourcing its food through a UK-wide buying programme called the Co-operative Retail Trading Group.)[11]
From 2006, it bought home furnishings stock through the Anglia Buying Group, a national buying programme operated by Anglia Regional Co-operative Society.[12]
Funeral and travel premises in Channel Street, Galashiels, photographed in 2009 a few months after the merger with the Co-operative Group
Chief executive Bob Jamieson served as a director of The Co-operative Group from 2005.
Lothian Co-op was at the time of its merger owned by 65,000 consumer members, who invested in equity shares, with share balances averaging £12 each, and earning 3% interest per year.[4]
Lothian and Borders Co-op rebuilt the frontage of its Galashiels supermarket in the early 1990s. The site was later purchased by Tesco.
It did not pay a patronage dividend to members, though each year around £90,000 of profits was distributed to local causes as “Community Dividend Grants”, and taxable profit was re-invested in the business.[4] A voluntary president and board of directors were elected from among the members holding at least four shares, on a one member one vote basis; the board supervised the chief executive and management. Like many UK listed companies and co-operatives, the board had an audit sub-committee responsible for internal controls, following the 1999 Turnbull Report.[4]
References
^"Directors". Lothian Co-op. Retrieved 19 June 2008.
^"Executive". Lothian Co-op. Retrieved 19 June 2008.
^ ab"History". Lothian Co-op. Archived from the original on 8 June 2007. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
^"Co-operation". Rochdale Boroughwide Cultural Trust. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2008. In 1844 a group of twenty-eight men in Rochdale formed the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society.
