The Co-op recruited over one million members in 2023, the highest number in a single year since 2017 and more than in 2021 and 2022 combined.

In its latest annual financial report, the convenience store chain revealed that around five million people have now joined its membership offering, which gives members access to discounts and makes them partial owners in the business.

The move comes after Co-op said it would pledge over £240 million towards a new membership strategy over the next few years.

The company’s latest financial results show that profits for its food business increased by 11 per cent to £154 million, which it said was driven by improvements in cost efficiencies, availability, and waste reduction.

Online food sales jumped to £311 million compared to £222 million recorded in the previous financial year.

The Co-op said it currently has a 23 per cent share of the quick convenience market share and plans to grow it to 30 per cent in the next four years.

Across the wider group, which includes insurance and funeral services, revenue dropped to £11.3 billion from £11.5 billion the previous year, while it made an operating profit of £66 million compared to a loss of £12 million in 2022.

The company added that it had further bolstered its position by reducing its net debt by £827 million over the past two years.

“Our success in attracting new members has seen us surpass our expectations with new sign ups last year higher than the previous two years combined,” said Shirine Khoury-Haq, chief executive at the Co-op. “This momentum has continued into 2024 as we now stand at 5.2 million active member owners, and we expect to continue this journey and substantially increase the number of member-owners to 8 million by 2030.”

She continued: “2024 marks a significant shift as we begin putting in place the building blocks for our strategic growth plans across our Co-op, with a focus on growing our existing businesses including increasing our share of the quick commerce market and expanding our presence within the life services sector.”

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