Half Year Report
28 November 2025
Cooks Coffee Company Limited
("Cooks Coffee", or the "Company" or the "Group")
PARTNERSHIPS WITH TESCO AND DAIRYGOLD HIGHLIGHT REVENUE GROWTH FOR COOKS COFFEE COMPANY
Cooks Coffee Company (NZX:CCC; AQUIS:COOK), the international coffee focused café chain, operating Esquires ( the organic coffee company) announces its results for the six months ended 30 September 2025.
Period Highlights
Group revenues increased by 111% to NZ$5.77m (2025: NZ$2.74m)
Significant increase in growth was derived from Company managed stores in Ireland following the partnership with Dairygold.
excluding the Dairygold partnership the like-for-like revenue was $3.27m with a 19.3% growth.
new flagship location in Mallow, Cork opened in June 2025 and is now the second highest sales store in the Group and was selected in the final grouping for stores in the prestigious national annual Retail Excellence Ireland Awards.
Group EBITDA for the period was NZ$0.61m, compared with NZ$0.81m last year. The previous year contained a credit adjustment of $166k if normalised the EBITDA is down 5% from the prior year.
Company Net Profit before tax from Continuing business was NZ$0.068m compared to a Net Profit of NZ$0.53m last year.
Total store sales in the UK increased by 26.7% to NZ$33.2m as the development in suburban areas and smaller market towns gained further momentum. Like for like sales in the UK were up +3.5%.
Total sales in Ireland increased +27.4% to NZ$12.3m. Like for like sales in Ireland were up +6.4%.
Overall store sales for UK & Ireland increased +26.9% to NZ$45.5m.
Operating stores at the end of September were 96 in UK & Ireland, up from 85 at the end of March 2025.
The first of the stores in partnership with Tesco in Ireland opened in Tullamore a town of almost 16,000 population in County Offaly in Leinster Province.
This opening brings total stores open between UK & Ireland to 100 at the date of preparing this report.
During the period NZ$1.769m of debt reduction has occurred, with interest costs reducing by NZ$66k compared to FY25.
Post Period Events
Group store sales for the eight-week period to 24th November have maintained the positive momentum seen over the past six months with total store sales in the UK up 18.6% and in Ireland store sales up 29.8% compared to the previous year with total sales for the core business up 21.8% for the 8-week period.
The Company remains dedicated to building the business based on ethical principles and community values.
Chairman’s Statement
Keith Jackson, Executive Chairman
Cooks Coffee Company
The strong trading performance in the first half of the financial year built on last year’s momentum and has continued into the second half. The Directors expect second-half results to exceed first-half performance, as certain one-off costs that affected the first half are not expected to recur.
The Company’s revenues are primarily derived from royalties tied to individual site sales. The Directors’ priority is to support franchisees’ growth profitability and to maintain a robust pipeline of new stores in the UK and Ireland to sustain ongoing expansion.
During the six-month period to the end of September 2025, the Company added a net nine franchised stores in the UK and Ireland (14 openings and 5 closures of under-performing stores). Further growth is expected in the second half, with eight additional UK openings and four in Ireland planned, bringing the Group total to an anticipated 108 stores by the end of March 2026.
The Group is positioned well for future growth. Esquires UK & Ireland together recorded a systemwide weekly sales high of over NZ$2.0m in the week ended 2 November 2025. After a strong first half, the Directors are confident the business models remain well suited to current consumer conditions, despite wider economic concerns. The Regional Development model’s expansion across the UK will help accelerate network growth; the Company is actively seeking Regional Development partners for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Business Performance
Esquires Coffee United Kingdom
UK store numbers were 77 at the end of September 2025, up from 71 as of 31 March 2025. Sales from the Esquires outlets for the six-month period were up 26.7% compared to the same period in FY25.
The Regional Developer model in the UK has proved to be a significant driver of store growth, especially in the South & East of England.
During the six months the St Neots store was renovated with sales showing a gain more than 22% for the first three months of opening post renovation compared to prior year sales. This store in a buoyant market town demonstrates the Group’s ability to adapt and respond to changing consumer patterns.
As of January 2025, industry research company Allegra reported that the UK branded café market comprised of 11,456 stores with store sales of £6.1 billion which is projected to grow to £8.1 billion by 2030 at a compound growth rate of 5.7%. Store numbers are projected to grow to 13,260 by 2030 at a compound growth rate of 3.0%. Esquires share is currently 0.8% and we are planning for this to grow to 1.9% by 2030.
Esquires Coffee Tullamore
Esquires Ireland
The Irish business is experiencing strong growth driven by the addition of 3 of the company managed stores in the Dairygold Superstores for the full period and with the 4th store opening in Mallow, Cork in June 2025. The Dairygold contract is for an initial period of 10 years and the cafes are based in Midleton, Carrigaline and Mallow in Cork and Raheen in Limerick. Dairygold’s retail business operates 26 stores across Munster under the Co-op Superstores brand.
Thie Mallow store has set new standards for the brand internationally and to be selected in the finals of Retail Excellence Ireland for 2025 for such a new store is an achievement of which the Company is extremely proud.
In October the Company announced a partnership with Tesco, Ireland to open five Esquires Cafes in selected Tesco stores. The first store opened in Tullamore on 19th November and a further four stores are expected to open by the end of January 2026. Esquires store numbers at the date of the report are 21 which is up from 18 as at the end of March 2025.
According to Allegra, the Irish branded café market is reported to have 768 stores as at March 2025 and is projected to grow at 2.4% CAGR to 2030 when the numbers of branded stores are estimated to be 866. The Esquires current share of stores is 2.5% and the Company is planning to increase this to 40m stores or 4.6% by March 2030.
Esquires Coffee Eastcote
Esquires Coffee Saffron Walden
International
A master franchise agreement was signed with Sterling Coffee Houses to develop the Esquires brand for India in May 2025. Under the terms of the agreement Sterling Coffee Houses will be responsible for the establishment and operations of the business in India with ongoing support from Cooks Coffee. This support will include providing systems, processes and best practice related to the Esquires brand, enabling the Master Franchisee to maintain the high standards synonymous with the brand. The first stores are expected to be open before the end of the financial year.
Store sales in Portugal where Esquires has two stores in Porto are slightly down on last year whilst in Pakistan the 8th outlet is in construction and due to open before the new year compared to the 6 at the same time last year.
Saudi Arabian sales are in line with last year’s levels with store numbers now at 3 outlets with the Airport store being the busiest in the Esquires global network in terms of transaction numbers.
Overall international store numbers were 14 at the report date.
ESG
The Board has established a formal ESG Committee, chaired by Elena Garside and comprising Directors and Senior Management. The Committee provides structured governance and oversight of the Company's ESG priorities, ensuring accountability and measurable progress.
Key ESG initiatives currently in place include:
Carbon-neutral sourcing: The Company maintained its partnership with one of the world’s first carbon-neutral roasteries, certified to the Carbon Neutral Gold Standard.
Ethical coffee standards: All coffee supplied across the portfolio remained 100% Fairtrade and organic, supporting ethical and environmentally responsible supply chains.
Waste reduction: The rollout of eco-friendly refillable cup programmes continued, offering customers discounts to reduce single-use waste.
Sustainable packaging: All takeaway packaging including cups, lids, paper bags and serviettes remained 100% recyclable. Further reductions in plastics were achieved using biodegradable straws, paper-based plates and wooden cutlery.
Cleaner operations: Increased adoption of Bio Ferma plant-based cleaning products reduced reliance on chemical-based alternatives and supported safer in-store environments.
Digitalisation: Additional digital menu screens were installed, significantly cutting paper usage across the business.
Community impact: Stores continued to serve as local community hubs, supporting charitable partnerships, mental-wellbeing initiatives and a range of local programmes.
The ESG Committee will continue to review progress, enhance data collection and guide the Company’s evolving sustainability strategy ahead of the next reporting period.
Esquires Coffee Westerham
Esquires Coffee Westerham Building
Corporate - Transition to UK
The Company is continuing its planned transition to relocate the business to the UK where the largest market in the business operates. This will improve efficient working practices and focus the business on its growth strategy in the core markets of UK and Ireland. Share trading liquidity in the UK is still low, and transaction numbers are small but growing albeit from a small base. The key focus is on building the business so that the improved performance will drive interest from the investor community.
Summary and Outlook
The prospects for the Company for the remainder of the financial year and beyond are encouraging as the trading momentum has continued and store sales trends have been very positive. There is a solid pipeline of new stores in both core markets of UK & Ireland.
The Cooks Coffee model being operated by Esquires is based on a locally focused franchised network and is very scalable in a capital light manner. With the focus on core markets, we believe that we have critical mass with an ability to grow rapidly in exciting growth markets.
The target of having 300 stores in the UK and Ireland by 2034 remains, and the solid base being established in these core markets will enable expansion in other attractive markets and provide the base for potential value enhancing opportunities that will add to shareholder value.
The development in India is an exciting opportunity for the company, and we expect the first outlets to be opened before the end of the financial year. The Group is working actively to grow on the base of business in the Middle East, but the focus remains on UK & Ireland.
Given the solid pipeline of new stores, the Company expects that we will continue to grow the number of Esquires outlets operating in UK & Ireland by the end of March 2026 to 108. With the Company now firmly back into growth and encouraged by current trading the Board remains confident about the prospects of the Group and views the future with optimism.
Enquiries:
Cooks Coffee Company Limited
Keith Jackson (Executive Chairman)
keith.jackson@cookscoffeecompany.com
64 21 702 509 (New Zealand)
Angela Griffen
angela@angelagriffen.com
64 275 780889 (NZ)