CMA accepts Co-op and Southern Co-op undertakings in lieu of reference

The Competition and Markets Authority accepted undertakings in lieu of a phase 2 reference on 5 November in the Co-op Group and Southern Co-op case. The remedy package covers the sale of convenience stores and funeral homes. The full text of the decision is still to be published, and the case page remains open.

Co-operative Group Limited completed its acquisition of The Southern Co-operative Limited on 26 July 2026, before the competition review finished. The CMA’s case page records that it accepted undertakings offered by the Co-op Group in relation to the completed acquisition and that the full decision will be published shortly. The wording matters: the CMA accepted undertakings in lieu of a reference, which is a different outcome from clearing the deal.

What the undertakings cover

When the CMA proposed to accept the package on 29 September, it described the remedy as the sale of 15 convenience stores and two funeral homes. The concerns related to several local areas in southern England, where the CMA said the merger could reduce competition for convenience store shoppers and for people arranging funerals.

The CMA’s executive director for mergers, Joel Bamford, said the businesses had engaged constructively to find a solution. The final undertakings were published as a PDF dated 5 November, which has not been read for this report, so the final site list is not confirmed here.

How the case reached this point

The CMA launched its merger inquiry on 30 July and announced its phase 1 decision on 15 September, finding that the deal would be referred for an in-depth phase 2 investigation unless the parties offered an acceptable undertaking. It considered the offer on 29 September and consulted on the proposed undertakings from 12 October.

We covered the first-phase finding in September when the Co-op reported its first-half loss. The acceptance on 5 November closes the stage that decided whether a phase 2 investigation would go ahead.

Where franchising fits, and where it does not

This is a merger between co-operative societies, not a franchise transaction. Co-op Group runs a franchise programme for retailers, but independent co-operative societies are co-operatives in their own right and not franchisees of the Group, and this report does not describe any franchise sites among those to be sold.

The case still matters to anyone following the Group’s estate, which we have tracked through the closure of its five standalone On The Go shops. How many of the divested sites change hands, and to whom, will depend on the full decision.