The Midcounties Co-operative is the second largest independent co-operative in the UK. The first co-operative was set up over 167 years ago (1844) and in 2012 Midcounties Co-operative has a broad family of businesses, ranging from large trading groups of travel, food, pharmacy, energy provision and childcare to a collection of Post Offices.
As a co-operative society they are governed by the co-operative values & principles that guide all co-operative enterprises around the world. At The Midcounties Co-operative they have selected four key values that they believe are the main elements guiding their business practices. They are: Democracy, Openness, Equality and Social Responsibility.
Values and principles
The Midcounties Co-operative strives to be a successful consumer co-operative working towards creating a better, fairer world and to enhance the lives of their colleagues, members, customers, and the communities they serve. Led by their values and principles, they work with members to tackle issues that are important to them – from helping the community to tackling global climate change.
What is a co-operative
A co-operative is a group of people acting together to meet the common needs and aspirations of its members, sharing ownership and making decisions democratically. Co-operatives are not about making big profits for shareholders, but creating value for customers - this is what gives co-operatives a unique character, and influences their values and principles.
A history of co-operation
The Rochdale Pioneers are credited with starting the first successful retail co-operative society in 1844, although there had been earlier attempts. The Pioneers opened a shop in Toad Lane, Rochdale selling goods at reasonable prices to raise funds to create their own co-operative community. By 1890, the efforts of ordinary men and women had forged a movement of some 1,400 societies right across the country, with even more in Europe and elsewhere throughout the world. However, during the last century, the Co-operative Movement has undergone many changes in order to meet the challenge posed by multiple retailers, including combining to create larger and more efficient organisations.
What will this mean for you?
You will continue to be our customer and we will still look after you and any future bookings you make with us. If you have an existing booking with Blue Bay Travel and are yet to travel, your booking remains fully ATOL protected via The Global Travel Group and all future bookings will benefit from the protection of both ABTA and ATOL via Blue Bay Travel and Midcounties Co-operative. As we are no longer acting as an agent for The Global Travel Group, to ensure your consumer protection stays in place, Global will be accepting payments on our behalf, however you will continue to enjoy our service as a customer of Blue Bay Travel. Should you need to make any amendments to your existing booking or pay your balance you will need to contact Global Travel's Agency Support Department on 01244 521 202 or e-mail. The Agency Support Department is open from 9:30am until 5:00pm Monday to Friday. To make a new booking simply contact us in the usual way via the number on our website.
Want to know more?
You'll find lots of useful information on our website so you can learn all about Midcounties and ABTA. Have a browse around our FAQ which aims to answer any queries or concerns you may have. You can also have a nose at the Midcounties and ABTA official websites. You will find all of the the relevant links towards the top of this page.
We're here to help
We've set up a dedicated helpline so you can speak directly to a human being at Blue Bay Travel. Should you have any questions that haven't already been answered or if you need assistance, please feel free to give our helpline a call on 0844 371 4015.
The Midcounties Co-operative is the second largest independent co-operative in the UK.