Co-op says months of disruption from hack attempt cost it £80m

The Coop has fallen into the red after it suffered an £80m hit to profits as a result of a cyber-attack.

- Lauren Almeida

The group, which owns more than 2,000 grocery stores and 800 funeral parlours, was forced to shut down parts of its IT systems in April because of an attempted hack. Shoppers faced gaps on shelves, while funeral parlours had to operate some services via paper-based systems.

The retailer said yesterday that it estimated the disruption had lost it £206m in revenue. Its chief financial officer, Rachel Izzard, told Reuters: “We believe the hit to the half year is £80m; we believe the hit for the full year is £120m and that’s inclusive of any [insurance] recovery.”