Cooks Coffee seeking to reach 300 Esquires stores in the UK & Ireland by 2034

The interior of an Esquires Coffee store in Sudbury, Suffolk | Photo credit: Cooks Coffee

New Zealand-based Cooks Coffee Company is seeking to more than triple its Esquires Coffee footprint in the UK and Ireland over the next decade to reach 300 outlets. 
 

The dual-listed café operator currently operates 64 Esquires Coffee sites in the UK and 16 in Ireland, alongside more than 20 stores in Continental Europe and the Middle East.

The business forecasts it will reach 98 Esquires Coffee stores across the UK and Ireland by the end of March 2025 before seeking to open 25 new sites annually across the two markets. 

In March 2024, Cooks Coffee appointed its first CEO, Aiden Keegan, who has led Esquire Coffee’s UK-focused strategy after the operator’s 11-store Triple Two coffee chain was placed into voluntary administration in October 2023.

Keegan has worked for Cooks Coffee since 2004 and most recently served as Managing Director for Esquires Coffee UK. 

“We have an exciting growth pathway clearly defined and have Aiden Keegan appointed to drive the future development of the business. Aiden is uniquely qualified for the role having spent 14 years as Operations Manager of the Irish business and the last almost six years as CEO of Esquires Coffee UK,” said Keith Jackson, Chairman, Cooks Coffee. 

Cooks Coffee achieved 18% year-on-year sales growth in the 12 months ending 31 March 2024 to reach NZ$58.2m ($35.7m). UK sales increased 21% to NZ$38.3m ($23.5m) and Ireland sales rose 11% to NZ$19.9m ($12.2m).    

Cooks also operates more than 20 licensed Esquires Coffee stores across Portugal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain. It opened new stores in Portugal and Pakistan over the last 12 months, with non-UK and Ireland operating revenue reported as ‘stable’.