Cooks Coffee Company has targeted having 305 UK & Ireland Esquires stores by 2034 after opening five in as many weeks. The company ended its financial year to 31 March 2024 with 60 UK stores and 15 in Ireland, up from a group total of 64 in 2023.

Since the year-end, it has opened at in the former WHSmith unit in Market Hill in Sudbury, Suffolk; at 11 Christchurch Road in Colindale, north London; 2 Love Lane in Pinner, north west London; and within the Celtic Springs Retail Park in Newport, South Wales. In Ireland, it has also opened a new store in Galway. “Target store numbers for UK & Ireland by FY34 is 305,” the company said in its accounts for the period. “Target stores for the end of March 2025 are 98 with 80 in the UK and 18 in Ireland.

The company is expecting to continue to grow at this rate of stores being added per annum to have more than 300 stores operational in UK and Ireland by FY34. The focus on suburbs and market towns has sheltered Esquires branded stores from the permanent changes in consumer behaviours post covid, such as the working from home lifestyle change.

Growth in UK has been driven through strong performances by the regional developers in the south east, London, east of England and East Midlands. The appointment of two new regional developers during FY24 for the north of England and the south west and south Wales will accelerate the growth in those regions. The FY25 financial year has begun strongly with four new stores opened in the UK and one in Ireland in April and May. UK store sales after eight weeks of FY25 were up 27.3% on FY24 while in Ireland sales were 7% up on FY24.” The company reported total franchisee store sales in the UK & Ireland were up 18% at NZ$58.2m (FY23: NZ$49.5m).

UK store sales up were 21% at NZ$38.3m (FY23: NZ$31.6m) and Ireland up 11% at NZ$19.9m, (FY23: NZ$17.9m). Group revenue was up 19% to NZ$4.7m from NZ$3.9m, while Ebitda was NZ$0.4m before impairment of receivables. The company said its Horsham store has exceeded expectations since reopening by more than doubling pre-refurbishment sales levels, and that regional developers for Scotland and Northern Ireland are currently being sought.

Total equity in the company reduced to a loss of NZ$4.0m, reflecting primarily the non-cash impairment of goodwill and intangible assets relating to the Triple Two business, which was placed into voluntary liquidation in September 2023. “The Triple Two investment was fully written off in the September FY24 half year accounts," the group said.

"This non-cash write-down has resulted in the company reporting NZ$4m of negative equity in the full year accounts. The board believes that there is no further impact of the Triple Two liquidation going forward.”