Co-op Group planning merger

THE Coop Group is preparing to take over the Southern Coop - a merger which would bring a major shakeup to the retail and funeral giant in its bid to move on from a crushing cyber attack.

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The deal would see the group snap up around 300 food stores, funeral branches and Starbucks coffee shops.

The Coop Group operates a string of supermarkets and funeral branches across the country but last month it revealed a £126m loss in the fallout of a cyber attack.