Cooks Coffee is targeting 98 stores in FY25, with 80 in the UK and 18 in Ireland, a growth of 31% over the 75 operational at the end of March 2024.
The Esquires operator said the FY25 financial year has begun strongly, with four new stores opened in the UK and one in Ireland in April & May.
UK store sales after eight weeks of FY25 were up 27.3% on FY24 whilst in Ireland sales were 7% up on FY24.
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.
In preliminary results for the financial year ended 31 March 2024, Cooks reported total franchisee store sales in the UK & Ireland up 18% at £28m (FY23: £23.8m).
UK store sales were up 21% at £18.4m (FY23: £15.2m), double the industry average of 9%.
The Esquires operator had 75 sites in the UK and Ireland as of 31 March 2024, up from 64 as at 1 April 2023.
Net store numbers in the UK grew by 18% and 15% in Ireland.
Cooks said the focus on suburbs and market towns has sheltered Esquires branded stores from the changes in consumer behaviours post Covid, such as the working from home lifestyle change.
The strategic direction, plus the focus on organic coffee products and an enhanced food offering with local sourcing where possible, has proved successful for the brand.
Growth in 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 accelerate the growth in those regions.
Commenting, 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.”
Esquires Coffee UK store numbers increased to 60 at 31 March 2024, from 51 as at 31 March 2023, with 13 new Esquires stores opened and four closed.
Store sales grew 21% with like for like sales up 6%. The strong 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 re-opening have exceeded expectations by more than doubling pre-refurbishment sales levels.
As at the end of May 2024 there are 64 stores operating, with new stores opened in Colliers Wood and Pinner in London, Newport in Wales, and Sudbury in Suffolk, during April and May 2024.
Two new regional developers were appointed in the UK in FY24 with one covering the Southwest of England and South Wales, and the other covering the North of England, including the North of Wales.
The regional developer model that has been operating in the Southeast of England since 2018 and in London, East England and the East Midlands since 2021, is now being rolled out to the remainder of the UK. Developers for Scotland and Northern Ireland are currently being sought.
As a result of the Triple Two subsidiary being placed into voluntary liquidation, Cooks reported £1.92m of negative equity in the full year accounts.
Triple Two had numerous sites that were non-viable in a post Covid market environment as they were more central business district focused relative to the suburban and smaller town focus of Esquires stores.
Information became available showing that commitments were made that potentially could have been significant liabilities for the company.
The Triple Two investment was fully written off in the September FY24 half year accounts, and the board believes that there is no further impact of the Triple Two liquidation going forward.
As part of the planned relocation of the board to the UK, Mike Hutcheson will retire from the board in June 2024.
