The Co-op has admitted to unlawfully blocking 107 store openings by rival supermarkets between 2010 and 2020.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that the convenience retailer, which owns almost 2,400 UK stores, breached the Groceries Market Investigation Order 2010. The rule was first introduced to stop supermarkets imposing restrictions that block rivals from opening competing stores nearby.

The competition watchdog said it was concerned that this substantial number of breaches demonstrates a “significant failure of compliance” for a business of Co-op’s size.

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Having already addressed 104 agreements, the grocer has also agreed to resolve the remaining three.

CMA senior director of markets Daniel Turnball said: “We know that Co-op has made a considerable effort to amend all their unlawful agreements, given this Order has been in place since 2010. Co-op and the other designated retailers must make sure they do the right thing by their customers in the future.”

A Co-op spokesperson added: “As a business that is committed to operating fairly, we recognise this is extremely disappointing. Co-op operates in a range of markets, both as a community retailer and a national funeral provider and the number of breaches amount to less than 2% of transactions across our entire property portfolio.

“This is a matter we take very seriously, and we have taken all necessary action to ensure this issue is resolved and does not happen again.”

According to the CMA, other supermarkets have previously been in breach of the order, including Tesco with 23 breaches in 2020, Waitrose with seven, Sainsbury’s with 18 and Asda with 14 in 2022, followed by Morrisons with 55 breaches in 2023 and M&S with 10 in the same year.