Islanders respond to Coop dividend rate

People in Guernsey have been responding to the Channel Islands' Co-operative's dividend announcement.

On Wednesday the business said it would pay members a 2% dividend rate, the same rate as last year, despite it having returned to profitability in 2024 after a £1.8m loss in 2023.

Chief executive Mark Cox said the business "would love to get back to a 4% dividend rate" but the members had said they appreciated the immediate benefits of reduced in-store member prices.

Member Mandy said she was "very happy" with the dividend rate as "anything is better than nothing as far as I'm concerned".

Another member, Jane, said she found the offers "very good" and she was "quite happy" with the dividend rate.

"I wasn't expecting anything at all," she said.

She added: "I'm actually quite happy because I feel the prices are quite good, they have Coop member prices and they're quite good deals, and I find their offers are very good."

However, a third CI Coop member, John, said the 2% dividend rate was "not really fair".

He said: "Last year it was 2% and yet they made such a profit this year so it should be more, really - 5% would be more fair.

"We've all been loyal to the Coop and it's spoken about that the dividend is not paying up these last few years."

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