The convenience retailer will launch over 65 stores new and extended stores, with more than 100 further outlets receiving major makeovers as part of a £130m store investment programme creating up to 1,000 local jobs.

New convenience stores fit-outs generall cost around £500,000 for the Co-op with the work spread nationally.

Co-op will be able to pick and choose its new sites taking advantage of the glut of vacant properties caused by lockdown and the impact on the high street.

Further, up to 12 new Co-op franchise stores are set to launch this year, including at Oxford Brookes University and Stirling University – with more university locations planned for 2021.

More than 50 of the new stores will open by the end of the year, in areas including Wrexham, London, Poole, Leeds and Guildford.

David Roberts, Managing Director, Co-op Property, said: “We continually look for new locations, sites which are definitively convenient in their community – closer to our Members and customers with proximity shopping a key consumer consideration.”

Association of Convenience Stores chief executive, James Lowman, said: “Convenience stores have firmly established themselves as a place that local communities can rely on, not just for groceries but for a growing range of services that have kept the nation going during the last few months.

“This commitment to investing in stores in the coming months is testament to the importance of the convenience sector and the role that local shops play in people’s everyday lives.”

Co-op operates over 2,600 food stores, and is owned by around 4.6m active members.