Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Co-op says to sell farms, may sell pharmacy business

LONDON Wed Feb 26, 2014 4:00am EST





<span id="articleText"/>LONDON Feb 26 (Reuters) - Britain's struggling Co-operative Group said on Wednesday it had kick started the sale of its farms and was looking at selling part or all of its pharmacy business.



<span id="midArticle_0"/>The company, which this month cautioned that it had lost touch with its customers, said it had decided its farms were "non-core" as part of a wider strategic review of all of its businesses.



<span id="midArticle_1"/>"(The group) has started a process that is expected to lead to a sale of the business," the company said in a statement on its website.



<span id="midArticle_2"/>"In addition, it is exploring options for the future of the Pharmacy business; this could include the sale in whole or part of the business."



<span id="midArticle_3"/>A source familiar with the situation told Reuters the process of selling its pharmacy arm was at an early stage while the farms sale was more advanced.



<span id="midArticle_4"/>The Co-op, whose banking arm has been hit by a capital shortfall and drugs scandal involving its ex-chairman, is undergoing a independent review of its operations.



<span id="midArticle_5"/>The BBC, which reported earlier on Wednesday about Co-op's farms and pharmacy business sales, also said that the group is expected to announce full-year 2013 losses greater than 2 billion pounds ($3.34 billion) next month.



<span id="midArticle_6"/>A Co-op spokesperson declined to comment on the BBC report.



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