Co-op reveals cyber attack cost it £206m in lost revenue
The cyber-attack suffered by Co-op cost it over £206 million in lost revenues, the retailer has revealed.
Posting its results for the six months ending 5th July 2025, Co-op said it had additionally experienced expected and significant cost headwinds, including Real Living Wage and National Insurance increases and new Extended Producer Responsibility charges.
Earlier this year, Co-op saw the security of its 20 million members’ personal data compromised, after ransomware group, Dragonforce reportedly told the BBC it had a sample of 10,000 customers’ data, including their membership card numbers, names, home addresses, emails and phone numbers.
Co-op said it experienced “sustained malicious attempts by hackers” to access their systems.
Acknowledging at the time that cyber criminals had been able to access “a limited amount of member data”. CEO of the Co-operative Group, Shirine Khoury-Haq said it had been “extremely distressing for our colleagues and members” and apologised for what had happened.
When Co-op was targeted by what it describes as a “sophisticated cyber attack”, they acted quickly and decisively to temporarily shut down a number of systems to contain the threat. The full cost of the attack on the Co-op could rise, as the company expects the impact of it to roll into the second half of the year.
‘AREAS TO FOCUS ON’
The retailer is focusing on building back stronger, with strategic plans accelerated in H2, including the launch of a new Group Commercial & Logistics Division and 30 new store openings on the horizon.
Speaking after the publication of the results, Shirine Khoury-Haq said that over the last three years, they’ve built a stronger and more resilient Co-op, better able to navigate the headwinds that all businesses are facing.
“When we experienced a significant cyber attack, that financial strength allowed us to respond as a member-owned organisation,” she said.
“I’m very proud of how we reacted: we kept trading, prioritised colleagues and vulnerable communities, and launched a partnership with The Hacking Games to tackle youth disenfranchisement – the root of many cyber threats.
“The cyber attack highlighted many of our strengths. But more importantly, it also highlighted areas we need to focus on – particularly in our Food business.
“We’ve already started on this journey, refining our member and customer proposition, making structural changes to our business, and setting our Co-op up for long-term success.”
