The Midcounties Co-operative has announced the launch of a new member investment portal.

The new portal, developed alongside Mutual Vision, provides a space for members to view and manage their investments online for the first time.

Previously, investments were managed manually via bank transfers or forms submitted by post or email.

The Midcounties Co-operative is a co-operative society owned by more than 758,000 members, mainly operating across Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.

The organisation runs the Your Co-op family of businesses which spans Food, Travel, Early Years, Energy, Telecoms, Post Offices and Flexible Benefits.

It said that the new investment portal is a digital transformation which "doesn’t only make it easier for members but is more efficient process for colleagues to manage internally."

Members can invest through a standard share account, opened automatically upon joining the society, or choose fixed-term investments.

The Co-operative says it reinvests member funds to drive long-term community benefit, from building new trading sites and expanding services to improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.

Last year, the Society achieved its highest-ever level of member equity, with the new Member Investment Platform helping to reach even more members.

“As a Co-operative we look after member’s money to help invest in the Society and doing good for their communities," said Jacob Isherwood, chief information officer at The Midcounties Co-operative. "We wanted to choose a savings platform that would ensure we keep their money secure while improving how we manage and monitor their investments."

At the end of last year, Chris Chandler, head of store support at Midcounties Co-op, said that to mitigate the financial impact of a hike in employer National Insurance Contributions in 2025, the company's strategy would be to leverage automation to increase productivity.

He added that after the budget announcement, the organisation had to significantly revise its capital investment plans for 2025.

“I think it's fair to say, post Budget announcement, we kind of ripped up half of our capital plans for next year,” Chandler said at the time.

The business transformation lead explained that the company is looking to invest in more self-checkout technology to make its stores more productive.

“We are also dedicating a significant portion of our team to focus solely on identifying and implementing operational efficiencies for the next year,” he continued.

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