The Leeds Industrial Co-operative Society (Leeds Co-op) was a British independent

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

society based in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, which merged with

United Co-operatives United Co-operatives Limited, or simply ''United Co-op'', is a now defunct regional consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom, until its merger with the Co-operative Group in 2007. The society operated across Yorkshire, the North West and Nor ...

in 2007. Leeds Co-op was founded in 1847 as a Co-operative Flour Mill Society, workers at Benyon & Co's flax spinning mill raising funds through instalments to acquire some land. One of the founders was John Holmes, a draper. By the end of the year the co-op was selling flour cheaply to its members and the price of flour in the Borough of Leeds was lowered considerably. A mill, The People's Mill, was built in Leeds, just opposite Marshall's Mill, but has since been demolished. Leeds Co-operative Society blue plaque 2018

Leeds Co-operative Society blue plaque 2018

Image:Leedsindustrial2.JPG, Hyde Park Store Image:Leedsindustrial1.JPG, Hyde Park Store Close Up By the 1860s it was the country's largest co-operative society and it became the City's major retailer. Although it started as a flour miller, the society soon diversified into food and non-food retailing. By late 2006 Leeds Co-op was the oldest independent society in Britain, one of the largest businesses in Leeds., and the 19th largest co-operative Society in the United Kingdom, as other societies merged. At its merger with United, the society stood at over 700 employees and 21,000 members, trading at twenty-one food supermarkets, seventeen travel agencies, eighteen

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

homes, six optical units and a large property portfolio in West Yorkshire. It was a shareholder of the

Co-operative Group Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op, is a British consumer cooperative, consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses including food retail, wholesale, e-pharmacy, insurance and legal services, and funeral care. The Co-op ...

and traded using the “Co-op” brand. In December 2006, Leeds members voted to merge the society with United Co-operatives, the second largest society in the UK, subject to a further vote on 8 January 2007

The members voted once again for merger, and Leeds Society ceded their assets to United in mid January 2007. Later in 2007, United merged with

the Co-operative Group Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op, is a British consumer cooperative, consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses including food retail, wholesale, e-pharmacy, insurance and legal services, and funeral care. The Co-op ...

References

Defunct companies based in Leeds Former co-operatives of the United Kingdom Consumers' co-operatives of the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1847 Retail companies disestablished in 2007 1847 establishments in England Leeds Blue Plaques {{UK-retail-company-stub

See also

References