IT will be 'business as usual' if newly-announced plans for a merger between Lothian Borders and Angus Co-op and the UK-wide Co-operative Group are approved by their members and do not get blocked by the competition authorities, writes Mark Entwistle.
The proposed merger will be considered by Lothian Borders and Angus Co-operative Society (LBACS) members at a series of meetings in the autumn.
LBACS runs 66 food, pharmacy, petrol, funeral and non-food outlets and employs about 1,200 staff in the
Lothians, Borders and Angus areas, and also runs stores across Grampian and Dumfriesshire.
In the Borders it has 13 food stores scattered across the region, as well as a non-food retail outlet in Selkirk.
However, while customers could expect to see little difference on the shelves of their high streets as a result of the move, there would be one major casualty of the deal, with the closure some time next year of the LBACS head office in Galashiels.
That would affect 47 jobs – 26 administration staff and 21 members of management. Of these, eight workers are likely to take early retirement and nine are expected to be employed by the Co-Operative Group's Scottish division.
Chief executive Bob Jamieson, who will take early retirement himself next year if the merger is approved and once the two organisations are fully integrated, says the timing of the move made business sense.
"We are approaching this proposed merger from a position of considerable strength.
"We have a robust trading position and a strong balance sheet but we believe that the best way to maintain co-operative trading in the areas in which we operate is to seek this merger now.
"We also believe that the long-term future of the Co-operative movement is best served by greater consolidation, with the ultimate objective of creating one highly successful society covering the whole of the UK.
