The Coop

Fancy owning a bank, an insurance company, various farms, and a funeral business for �1? This is the deal that membership of the coop offers because you will be legal joint owner of all of these outfits when you join.
The coop is a far more focused and rational business than it was during its long relative decline. It is actually the first time we can truly talk of 'the coop' because up until recently it was a complex federation and not a single company at all.
Profits are rising nicely due to some painful disposals- including abandonment of mainstream food retailing. The company is now more of a convenience operator.
Fortunately (because the coop is owned by its members) this means the return of the dividend. Get yourself a card and see if you can make it work for you.
N.B The beehive photo is included because the coop is trying to 'save the bee' and is better placed to do this than almost anyone as it is one of the countries biggest landowners. Most flowering plants are reliant upon bees to reproduce. Butterflies will do the job at a pinch and some trees can self pollinate but we will all be in deep dodo without the bee.