Cooks Coffee Company to dual list in UK with Aquis

Originally published on NBR(National Business Review New Zealand) on 16th August 2022

‘It makes sense for us,’ says executive chair.

Cooks Coffee Company said it intends to list on the Aquis Stock Exchange (AQSE) as well as the NZX, in a dual listing that has been 12 to 18 months in the works.  

Executive chair Keith Jackson said: “Being such a predominantly UK and Ireland-focused group, it makes sense for us to dual list the company in London, and the Aquis Growth Market is ideally suited to our needs.”  

The London-based stock exchange focuses on small and medium-sized enterprises. 

When Jackson spoke to NBR in June he met with people from different markets in Europe including the London Stock Exchange and the Irish Exchange. 

Jackson told NBR Aquis was chosen over other options such as the Alternative Investment Market (the SME equivalent for the London Stock Exchange), as Aquis would recognise the NZX listing and provide fast-track entry to the market, which wasn’t available through AIM.  

Not only was the time to complete the process shorter through Aquis, but the independent market was also about a quarter of the price cheaper than using AIM.   

“So that provided us with a real leg up and made it a reasonably easy decision,” Jackson said.  

Flexible exchange

Advisers also recommended the market as a flexible exchange that was growing and a good platform to raise capital on.  

The Irish Stock Exchange has since been acquired by Euronext, a European stock exchange, but the broader European focus had less appeal to the company with a strong UK presence.   

“It made sense for us to go for a UK, London-based listing.”  

Cooks Coffee Company executive chairman Keith Jackson.

Jackson said while Cooks would consider raising capital in the future to build the business and support ongoing growth, the first step was getting listed and then the company would work with its advisers on an appropriate time to start looking at raising funds.  

“We are pretty confident that, when we get to that stage, we'll be able to raise a realistic amount of capital.”  

Cooks is targeting admission and start trading on the AQSE in mid-October. 

Cooks Coffee 

The company owns the master franchise rights to the Esquires Coffee brand (excluding Australia and New Zealand), as well as UK-based brand Triple Two Coffee.  

Earlier this year, the company changed its name from Cooks Global Foods to Cooks Coffee Company to realign itself with its core business.  

As of the end of July, the company had 114 outlets across all international markets including the UK, Ireland, and the Middle East.  

It claims to be the fourth-largest coffee chain in the UK, behind Costa, Starbucks, and the Caffe Nero group. 

The company turned a profit over the 12 months ending March 31, making $340,000 up from a $2.55 million loss the previous year, while global operating revenue increased to $300,000 from $200,000.   

In July, Cooks reported that Esquires UK, Ireland, and Triple Two UK sales for the first three months of financial year were up 90% on the previous year and up 34% compared with pre-Covid sales in 2019.  

By Kate McVicar, 16 Aug 2022