The Cooks Coffee-owned coffee chain is developing a strong pipeline of new stores as it works towards a goal to reach 300 UK and Ireland sites by 2034
An Esquires Coffee store in Paddock Wood, Kent | Photo credit: Cooks Coffee
Esquires Coffee has maintained strong sales growth in the UK and Ireland during its third quarter and is seeking to surpass 100 stores by the end of 2025.
The Cooks Coffee-owned coffee chain achieved 32% year-on-year sales growth in the three months ended 29 December 2024, with revenues in the UK up 36.5% during the period.
Esquires Coffee, which operates 87 stores across the UK and Ireland, said sales for the nine-months ended 31 December 2024 were up 26% year-on-year to $54.3m. UK stores tracked 34% higher than the same nine-month period in 2023 to reach $37.7m, with Ireland sales up 12% to $16.6m.
In a press release, Cooks Coffee said it has a strong pipeline of new stores and expects to open six further sites by April 2025. However, the New Zealand-based café group will need to ramp up outlet growth to achieve its goal of operating 300 Esquires stores across the UK and Ireland by 2034.
“The pipeline of new stores is solid, and the company expects that it will continue to grow the number of Esquires outlets operating in the UK and Ireland by the end of March 2025 with over 100 stores operating by the end of 2025. Given the strong trading momentum in the business, we remain confident about the future prospects of the group and view the future with optimism,” said Keith Jackson, Executive Chairman, Cooks Coffee.
Esquires Coffee, which sources its coffee from Glasgow-based coffee roaster Matthew Algie, is the only coffee chain currently managed by Cooks Coffee after the café group placed its UK-based Triple Two coffee chain into voluntary administration in October 2023.
Cooks Coffee, which also operates around 20 licensed Esquires Coffee stores across Continental Europe and the Middle East, completed its dual stock exchange listing in the UK in November 2022 and has been exploring options to relocate its corporate office from Auckland to the UK since late 2023.