Cooks Coffee UK&I sales jump 18% in FY24

Cooks Coffee, parent company of the Esquires, The Organic Coffee Co brand, has revealed that total franchisee store sales in UK and Ireland were up 18% at NZ$58.2m (£28.1m) in the financial year ended 31 March.

Store sales in the UK grew 21% with like for like sales up 6%. The pipeline of new outlets that were open for the full years FY23 and FY24 contributed 21.6% of total sales in FY24.  

Sales in FY24 were particularly affected by the refurbishment programme at Horsham, where the store was closed for 13 weeks, but the sales on reopening have “exceeded  expectations” by more than doubling pre-refurbishment sales levels. 

The group said that growth in the UK has been driven through “strong performances” by the regional developers in the Southeast, London, East England & East Midlands. The appointment of two new regional developers during FY24 for the North of England and the Southwest and South Wales will also accelerate the growth in those regions.

In Ireland store sales increased by 11%, totalling NZ$19.9m (£9.6m). Like for like store sales were up 6.8% compared to FY23. Outlet numbers at the end of the year were 15, a growth of 15%. 

Group revenue, which is highly correlated to store sales, was up 19% at NZ$4.7m (£2.2m). 

Esquires Coffee UK store numbers increased to 60 at 31 March, from 51 as at 31 March 2023, with 13 new Esquires stores opened and 4 closed. 

During the FY25 financial year, the group has already opened four new stores in the UK and  one in Ireland in April and May. UK store sales after 8 weeks of FY25 were up 27.3% on FY24 whilst in Ireland sales were 7% up on FY24. 

Target stores for the end of March 2025 are 98 with 80 in the UK and 18 in Ireland, a growth of 31% over the 75 operational at the end of March 2024. The Company is also expecting to have more than 300 stores operational in the UK and Ireland by FY34. 

Commenting on the results, Cooks Coffee executive chairman Keith Jackson said: “We are  delighted to report strong sales growth across our existing estate of coffee stores as we  continue our expansion programme of new store openings. 

“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.”