Cooks Coffee Company seeking to double Esquires UK footprint

An Esquires outlet in Godalming, Surrey | Photo credit: Cooks Coffee Company

Cooks Coffee Company has outlined plans to ‘strategically’ scale its Esquires coffee chain in the UK and double its store count to 100 within the next three years. 
 

The dual-listed café group, which also operates Triple Two Coffee across the UK and Ireland, is expected to open eight new Esquires stores in its next quarter, which would take its UK footprint to more than 60 outlets. 

In January 2023 Cooks Coffee Company reported record revenues in the UK and Ireland for 2022, with year-on-year sales across its two café brands increasing 41% in the UK and 91% in Ireland. 

However, reporting its full-year group results in May 2023, Cooks Coffee Company said total sales fell 10% to £3.4m ($4.2m) in the 12 months to 31 March 2023. Additionally, pre-tax losses widened to £1.6m ($2m), compared to £200,000 ($250,000) the previous year, following slower-than-expected outlet growth in the second half of the year. 

Founded in 2008, Cooks Coffee Company acquired Esquires Coffee International in June 2013 and purchased Triple Two Coffee in June 2020. 

The café group completed its dual listing on the Aquis Stock Exchange in November 2022, and is considering further UK acquisitions to create a ‘house of brands’ which can add ‘scale and shareholder value’ to its existing operations.  

“We are looking for complementary businesses that are synergistic with the existing operations and where we can all benefit from economies of scale that the acquisition might bring,” Executive Chairman Keith Jackson told online publication British Baker in May 2023. 

Cooks Coffee Company had 111 Esquires and Triple Two Coffee outlets across nine international markets at the end of December 2022. Alongside 13 stores in Ireland, Esquires also has outlets in Portugal, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Pakistan.