Yorkshire Co-operatives Ltd - which has over 200 outlets across the county, including Keighley - yesterday announced record profits of £13.95 million.

The figure is 18.4 per cent up on the previous year.

The company, which achieved sales of £506 million, has now notched up record profits for seven years in succession.

Investment in the past year has totalled over £7 million across the Yorkshire Co-op's eight trading divisions.

In the motor division, investment included £400,000 in a refurbishment of Keighley's Peugeot dealership.

And in the funerals division, there were major improvements to the Knowle.

Chief executive Peter Marks said: "It's fantastic that we have reached the £500 million milestone in sales in a year which has presented us with a number of challenges, particularly following September 11, and generated record profits too."