Former Co-op CEO paid almost £2m following ‘challenging year’

Shirine Khoury-Haq’s total remuneration for 2025 came to £1.9m, which included a £165,000 “rewarding growth” bonus approved by the board despite declining revenues and an underlying loss of £125m, reported The Guardian.

Khoury-Haq and fellow executives missed out on their standard annual bonuses after the board determined the company had fallen short of the minimum financial threshold required to justify the payments. Her overall package incorporated a longer-term performance award tied to previous years.

In the Co-op Group’s annual report, the remuneration committee explained that it had chosen to release 10% of the three-year maximum available under the “rewarding growth” scheme, which applies to all employees.

The report stated: “The challenges of 2025 mean that on formulaic assessment, the targets to trigger payment under this scheme for the year were not met. However, the committee is keen to recognise the tremendous hard work and effort of all colleagues in an extremely challenging and difficult year. The way our colleagues responded with resilience and professionalism to an unprecedented malicious cyber-attack was truly remarkable.”

As a result, full-time frontline employees who worked throughout 2025, such as shop floor staff, each received £100 under the arrangement.

The annual report did not indicate if Khoury-Haq would be entitled to any severance pay, though it confirmed she would receive nothing further from the “rewarding growth” scheme. It did note that she remains eligible for a separate £682,000 performance bonus payable next May, subject to certain conditions being met, and gave no suggestion her departure would disqualify her from receiving it. Her total 2025 package represented a reduction from the £2.2m she received the previous year.

Board member and former First Milk chief executive Kate Allum has been appointed interim chief executive while the search for a permanent successor gets underway.

Khoury-Haq spent four years as chief executive and almost seven at the organisation in total. 

The former chief executive rejected suggestions that her resignation was connected to allegations of a toxic culture at the group. “My decision to leave was very much a personal decision,” she said. “The reason is I want to go and do something else.”

In February, the Co-op had defended its leadership following reports that senior managers had complained of a toxic working environment, saying it did not believe the criticisms “represent the views of our broader leadership and colleagues”.

The retailer acknowledged it had lost commercial momentum while managing the aftermath of the cyber attack, and pointed to a broader slowdown in the convenience retail sector as stretched household budgets weighed on consumer spending.

The group also flagged around £150m in cumulative cost pressures during the year, stemming from rises in employer national insurance contributions, wages and packaging-related taxes.

A Co-op spokesperson said: “The rewarding growth incentive plan is a three-year all-colleague scheme, with 53,000 eligible colleagues across Co-op receiving a payout this year. The board exercised discretion to recognise the extraordinary effort of colleagues during a very challenging year, including their response to the cyber incident. The 10% is the maximum outcome expected for this year and reflects both that contribution and our commitment to ensuring colleagues share in the recovery and future success of our Co-op.”