 At the time the Co-operative Group was expanding with the aim of creating 1,500 new jobs and opening 100 new shops.Whilst the UK co-operative sector's market share of food retail has diminished from a peak of 30% in the 1950s to just 6.4% today, the largest business in the UK co-operative movement - The Co-operative Group - and is now the sixth largest food retailer in the United Kingdom.In March 2009, The Co-operative Group acquired the Somerfield supermarket retailer for £1.57bn from a group of private equity investors.