Zest adds ultra-rapid charging at nine Co-op stores

Zest to bring ultra-rapid EV charging to nine Heart of England Co-op stores

Zest and Heart of England Co-op have agreed a rollout of ultra-rapid EV charging across nine stores in the Midlands.

EVCP Info 2 September 2026 2 min read Updated 19 September 2026

The multi-year programme covers a mix of existing and new stores, including locations in Coventry, Nuneaton, Wellesbourne and Southam.

Zest will fund and operate the charging estate

Zest is acting as the investor-operator rather than simply supplying charging equipment.

Under the agreement, Zest will fund and operate the ultra-rapid infrastructure while Heart of England Co-op provides the retail locations.

That places the rollout within the fully funded CPO model increasingly used by retailers and property owners that want charging on site without owning or operating the network themselves.

Retail dwell time can support higher charging power

Neighbourhood supermarkets sit between conventional destination charging and en-route charging.

A grocery visit may last only 15 to 30 minutes, which can make rapid or ultra-rapid charging more useful than the lower-power AC commonly associated with longer destination stays.

The eventual value of the sites will still depend on the power actually installed, utilisation and the electrical capacity available at each store. Zest has not yet published the individual charger ratings or bay counts for the nine locations.

Charging adds another use to the retail site

For Heart of England Co-op, the arrangement adds public charging without requiring the retailer to operate its own CPO platform.

For Zest, the stores add everyday retail locations where drivers can charge while carrying out an existing journey purpose rather than travelling to a dedicated charging hub.

Zest already works with other retail groups including Central Co-op and Aldi.