The Co-operative Group MILITARY

Target: The Co-operative Group Limited

Domain: Military - Military Forensics

Research date: 23 October 2026

Evidence period: Historical corporate policies through October 2026.

Direct Defence Contracting & Procurement

Corporate identity and relevant entities

The Co-operative Group is a member-owned UK consumer co-operative operating food retail, funeral services, insurance, legal services and wholesale distribution businesses.¹

Its published 2025 annual report describes a group-wide civilian commercial operation, including the wholesale business previously operated as Nisa Retail Limited.²

In 2025, Nisa Retail Limited was repositioned as Co-op Wholesale, with the Nisa brand retained for participating independent retail partners.³

The company announced plans to combine with Southern Co-op in April 2026, extending the prospective group perimeter across food, funeral and other consumer-facing activities.⁴

By September 2026, Southern Co-op businesses had transferred to a wholly owned subsidiary, with separate operations continuing pending regulatory approval.⁵

Israeli Ministry of Defence and IDF contracts

No public evidence identified of a contract between The Co-operative Group and the Israeli Ministry of Defence, Israel Defence Forces, Israel Prison Service or Israeli Border Police in the reviewed corporate disclosures and announcements.^{2, 6}

No public evidence identified of an Israeli military procurement framework, defence-sector memorandum of understanding or named Israeli government security customer involving Co-op Wholesale or Nisa Retail Limited.^{3, 7}

Defence trade directories

No public evidence identified of The Co-operative Group appearing as an Israeli defence contractor or approved military equipment supplier in the reviewed corporate and defence-industry materials.^{6, 8}

Official announcements

The company’s 24 June 2025 announcement concerned restrictions on civilian products and ingredients sourced from specified countries, including Israel; it did not announce military cooperation.⁹

No public evidence identified of a defence joint venture, military procurement agreement or Israeli weapons-industry partnership in the reviewed company announcements.^{9, 10}

Dual-Use Products & Tactical Variants

Products and business activities

The company’s published activities cover food retail, wholesale distribution, funerals, insurance and legal services.^{1, 11}

Its 2026 wholesale offering included approximately 2,400 Co-op own-brand products, retail support and in-store digital promotional systems.³

These documented retail products and systems are not identified in the reviewed company materials as tactical, military-specified or purpose-built kinetic targeting technologies.^{3, 2}

Civilian-to-military distinction

The Co-operative Group’s 24 June 2025 sourcing-policy announcement expressly identified Israeli carrots as an example of a product subject to phased removal.⁹

The announcement established a civilian agricultural sourcing relationship with Israel but did not identify any military end-user.⁹

The Co-op’s published response to its 2025 member motion reiterated its commitment to ending sourcing of products and ingredients from Israel, together with 16 other countries.¹²

No public evidence identified that Israeli-sourced agricultural products sold by the company were procured for the IDF or manufactured to military specifications.^{9, 12}

Tactical products and software

No public evidence identified of Co-op-branded tactical equipment, military-grade communications systems, fire-control software or autonomous targeting applications supplied to Israeli forces in the reviewed business disclosures.^{2, 11}

Export licensing and end-user documentation

UK government export-control management information records export licences involving Israel but does not identify The Co-operative Group as a licence holder.¹³

No public evidence identified of company-specific military end-user certificates, controlled tactical-product exports or export-control applications involving Israeli military customers.^{13, 14}

Heavy Machinery, Construction & Infrastructure

Equipment in occupied territories

The Co-operative Group’s publicly described operating sectors are consumer retail, wholesale distribution, funeral services, insurance and legal services.^{1, 11}

No public evidence identified of Co-op-owned construction equipment, demolition machinery or engineering vehicles operating at Israeli settlements, checkpoints, military installations or separation-barrier construction sites.^{2, 15}

Settlement sourcing policy

The company’s 2026 response to its 2025 member motion states that its prohibition on sourcing products from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories dates to 2007.¹²

The company’s historical trade-policy disclosures describe a formal policy established in 2009 and a further Board decision in April 2012 restricting business with produce suppliers known to source from Israeli settlements.¹⁶

The 2026 response states that the subsequently adopted country-level sourcing restrictions built upon this earlier settlement-specific policy.¹²

These disclosures concern the sourcing of commercial products and ingredients; they do not establish construction, engineering or military infrastructure activity within occupied territory.^{12, 16}

Direct and indirect supply

No public evidence identified establishing a Co-op construction-equipment supply chain involving Israeli military users, authorised machinery distributors or secondary-market transfers into occupied territories.^{2, 15}

Construction and engineering contracts

No public evidence identified of contracts awarded to The Co-operative Group for checkpoints, detention facilities, military bases, settlement expansion or the separation barrier.^{2, 17}

Supply Chain Integration with Defence Primes

Defence-industry suppliers and customers

The Co-operative Group’s annual reporting identifies retail, wholesale and consumer-service activities, including relationships with independent retail partners.²

The company’s 2026 wholesale documentation describes retail product supply, commercial support and store-format services.³

No public evidence identified of a component-supply contract linking The Co-operative Group to Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems or Israel Military Industries.^{2, 8}

Named components

No public evidence identified of the company supplying guidance electronics, optical assemblies, propulsion equipment, radar components, armour materials or weapons-system subassemblies to Israeli defence contractors.^{2, 8}

Joint development and technology transfer

No public evidence identified of an Israeli defence-industry co-production agreement, military technology transfer, licensed weapons manufacture or joint development programme involving the company.^{2, 18}

Financial and corporate relationships

The June 2024 PAX publication examined financing relationships involving major arms producers supplying Israel.⁸

PAX reported aggregate European financial-institution exposure of €36.1 billion in loans and underwriting and €26 billion in shares and bonds to the arms producers examined.¹⁹

These aggregate figures do not identify The Co-operative Group as an Israeli defence supplier, and no verified company-specific financing relationship was established from the reviewed publication material.^{8, 19}

Group attribution

Co-op Wholesale supplies products and services to independent retailers, while the 2026 Southern Co-op transaction enlarged the group’s consumer-business perimeter.^{3, 5}

No public evidence identified establishing that these relationships include contracts to Israeli defence manufacturers or Israeli military establishments.^{3, 5}

Logistical Sustainment & Base Services

Military installation services

The company’s 2026 interim results described the development of a Group Commercial and Logistics division supporting its commercial and wholesale activities.⁵

The company’s background disclosures describe a network of UK food stores, funeral homes and independent wholesale customers.⁷

No public evidence identified of contracts to cater for, transport supplies to, maintain or manage Israeli military installations or detention facilities.^{5, 7}

Geographical scope

No public evidence identified of Co-op logistics contracts serving IDF facilities in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Golan Heights or Negev.^{5, 7}

Freight, shipping and port services

No public evidence identified of Co-op-operated freight forwarding, military cargo handling or arms-shipment services for Israeli defence customers.^{2, 5}

The Group’s publicly reported logistics activities concern its retail and wholesale operations.^{2, 5}

Wholesale attribution

The 2025 annual report describes the development of Co-op Wholesale and its relationships with independent retail businesses.²

The company’s 2026 Nisa proposition provides participating retailers with access to Co-op own-brand products and retail-support services.³

These arrangements do not themselves establish a military supply contract or identify an Israeli state security customer.^{2, 3}

Munitions, Weapons Systems & Strategic Platforms

Weapons manufacturing

The Co-operative Group identifies its main businesses as food retail, funeral services, insurance, legal services and wholesale distribution.^{1, 7}

No public evidence identified of manufacturing or licensed production of small arms, artillery, armoured vehicles, military drones, naval vessels or other lethal platforms supplied to Israeli forces.^{2, 8}

Munitions and precursor materials

No public evidence identified of supplying ammunition, propellants, explosives, warheads or weapons precursor materials to Israeli military end-users.^{2, 8}

Strategic systems

No public evidence identified of participation in Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow, Israeli military aircraft programmes, armoured vehicle programmes or naval weapons systems.^{2, 18}

Critical subassemblies

No public evidence identified of purpose-built weapons guidance software, fire-control systems, military radar, missile propulsion or warhead-related components supplied by the company.^{2, 18}

AI and software domain boundary

The company’s disclosed wholesale digital systems support civilian retail functions including product selection, store operations and promotion.³

No public evidence identified that these systems generate military targeting decisions or are designed to produce kinetic weapons effects.^{3, 2}

Export Licensing, Regulatory & Legal History

UK export-control framework

The UK Department for Business and Trade published management information concerning export licences involving Israel for periods beginning on 7 October 2023.¹³

Its May 2024 dataset recorded 345 extant licences involving Israel across the specified individual and open export and trade-control categories.²⁰

Its December 2024 release documented licensing decisions following the September 2024 suspension measures.²¹

The July 2025 release recorded 107 licences issued and 28 applications refused or rejected during the relevant reporting period.¹⁴

The February 2026 dataset reported 395 non-suspended extant licences involving Israel, including 192 classified as relating to non-military goods.²²

These figures concern UK export licensing generally and do not establish any Co-operative Group participation.^{13, 22}

Company-specific licence decisions

No public evidence identified of a UK or foreign military export licence granted, refused, suspended or revoked specifically for The Co-operative Group in connection with Israeli defence end-users.^{13, 22}

No public evidence identified of company-specific military export-control enforcement or sanctions proceedings arising from Israeli defence trade.^{13, 23}

Sanctions affecting settlements

On 15 October 2024, the UK announced sanctions against three illegal settlement outposts and four organisations associated with violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.²³

On 9 June 2026, the UK announced further coordinated measures targeting networks financing or enabling settler violence and advised British businesses against activity in illegal Israeli settlements.²⁴

Neither announcement identified The Co-operative Group as a sanctioned party.^{23, 24}

2026 regulatory developments

A UK government statement in 2026 announced plans for further restrictions on settlement goods and entities supporting settlement expansion.²⁵

The statement also described restrictions on arms export applications materially contributing to the occupation.²⁵

No public evidence identified connecting these measures to a specific Co-operative Group military contract or enforcement case.^{22, 25}

Litigation

No public evidence identified of litigation against The Co-operative Group concerning Israeli military procurement, weapons exports or defence-related sanctions violations in the reviewed regulatory and corporate records.^{2, 13}

Civil Society Scrutiny & Documented Investigations

Member-led scrutiny

At the Co-op Group AGM on 17 May 2025, members approved an advisory motion calling for trading with Israel to cease.²⁶

The company published voting results recording 72.80% support and 27.20% opposition for Motion 13, titled “Trading with Israel”.²⁶

The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre documented the motion and associated campaigning for removal of Israeli products from Co-op stores.²⁷

The campaign concerned commercial sourcing and wider human-rights issues, rather than a documented Co-op contract to supply the IDF.²⁷

Corporate response

On 24 June 2025, Co-op announced a Board-approved policy restricting sourcing from 17 countries, including Israel, on the basis of stated human-rights and international-law criteria.⁹

The company stated that products and ingredients clearly and solely sourced from those countries would be removed on a phased basis, beginning in June 2025.⁹

Co-operatives UK independently reported the announcement and described its connection to member engagement and the company’s peace and co-operation campaign.¹⁰

Co-operative News also reported the introduction of the sourcing restrictions and specifically identified Israeli carrots among affected products.²⁸

The company’s 2026 response to the member motion reaffirmed the policy and explained that implementation was affected by the complexities of international supply chains.¹²

That response also described continued support for Wahat al-Salam – Neve Shalom and other peacebuilding activities.¹²

Settlement-related advocacy

Friends of Al-Aqsa’s consumer campaign identifies the Co-op’s June 2025 sourcing policy as an example of a supermarket restricting procurement of products and ingredients from Israel.²⁹

The campaign urges consumers and retailers to scrutinise agricultural country-of-origin information and settlement-related sourcing.²⁹

The company’s historical settlement policy and its 2025 country-level sourcing policy address different geographic scopes.^{12, 16}

Post-July 2024 and post-November 2024 activity

The company’s 2025 announcement identified Israeli carrots among products being removed from its sourcing arrangements.⁹

The existence of a June 2025 phase-out confirms that the company was addressing Israeli product sourcing after July and November 2024.^{9, 12}

The available evidence does not identify a military end-user or defence-sector contract connected to those products.^{9, 12}

The company stated that contractual and seasonal commitments would affect the timing of product removal and that affected suppliers had been contacted.⁹

The 2026 member-motion update confirms the continued existence of the policy but does not provide a complete independently audited register of terminated supplier relationships.¹²

Corporate leadership

The company announced on 26 March 2026 that Shirine Khoury-Haq would step down as Chief Executive and Kate Allum would become Interim Group CEO.³⁰

On 10 August 2026, the company announced Debbie White’s departure as Chair and Moni Mannings OBE’s appointment as Interim Chair.³¹

The reviewed appointments and professional disclosures did not establish Israeli defence-industry directorships, Israeli military procurement relationships or military-directed charitable contributions by these individuals.^{30, 31}

Specialist defence-sector investigations

PAX’s June 2024 report concerns financial relationships between European institutions and arms producers supplying Israel.⁸

No verified finding in the reviewed PAX publication materials directly identifies The Co-operative Group as an Israeli defence contractor or arms producer.^{8, 19}

No public evidence identified of a specialist investigation establishing a Co-op contract involving Israeli weapons manufacture, Israeli military installations or purpose-built targeting technology in the reviewed sources.^{8, 27}

Defence-specific boycotts and divestment

The documented 2025 member campaign sought changes to Israeli commercial product sourcing.²⁷

No public evidence identified of an institutional divestment decision specifically targeting The Co-operative Group because of verified Israeli defence-sector contracts.^{8, 27}

No public evidence identified of an Israeli defence contract terminated by The Co-operative Group in response to a military-supply-chain campaign.^{9, 12}