THE CO-OPERATIVE Group has sold its British farming business to the Wellcome Trust medical charity, raising £249 million to help the organisation repair its finances.
The Co-op said yesterday that the new owner "will continue to invest in and develop the farms business, while maintaining existing services for local communities".
Around 16,000 hectares of land is being sold to the Wellcome Trust, which already has a property portfolio worth £1.8 billion. The sale includes six sites across Scotland such as Blairgowrie fruit farm in Perthshire, the Carnoustie and Longforgan packing houses near Dundee, and a complex of farms in the Borders.
The farming business is being sold as a going concern, which comes as a relief to the farmers whose sites are involved in the deal.
However, a proposed community buyout of Blairgowrie was unsuccessful, with the Co-op instead opting to sell the entire portfolio to a single buyer.
The farms were put on the market in February along with the Co-op's pharmacy branches, which last month were sold to cash and carry outfit Bestway for £620 million.
The Co-op lost £2 billion last year, after it uncovered a £1.5 billion capital hole during the failed attempt to buy 632 Lloyds Bank branches. The banking woes led to a governance shake-up, several investigations and the departure of a number of top staff.
Richard Pennycook, who was promoted to chief executive following Euan Sutherland's unexpected departure in May, said yesterday's sale "will enable us to further reduce our debt and progress with the delivery of the clear strategic plans we have in place for our core retail and consumer services division".
"In the Wellcome Trust we have a buyer whose values are closely aligned to those of The Co-operative," added Mr Penncook.
"They have a proven track record in managing a sustainable investment portfolio, the proceeds of which are used to fund improvements in biomedical science and learning."
The Wellcome Trust, one of the world's biggest charitable foundations, has investments ranging from property in central London to shares in social network Twitter.
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