The Co-op has reportedly appointed advisers to help sell off about 300 more of its unwanted shops as it tries to raise funds to improve the rest of the chain.
Reports suggest that the mutual has appointed the investment bank Rothschild to find prospective buyers for the shops, which equate to nearly 10 per cent of its estate, as it tries to keep a lid on debt and expand and modernise its successful convenience store business.
Last week The Co-op revealed that sales at established c-stores had increased by 3.8 per cent in the year to 2 January, more than double the pace of the Co-op food business as a whole.
The company has reported that it wants to open 100 new stores and refit a further 150, as well as investing another £45 million in cutting prices during 2016.
The Co-op has already sold off its pharmacy, farms and all but a 20 per cent stake in the Co-op bank, as part of a rescue plan led by the chief executive, Richard Pennycook, who took over in 2013.
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