Cooks Coffee outperforms the wider market in UK and Ireland

17/02/2026 12:00 NZDT, MKTUPDTE

17 February 2026

Cooks Coffee Company Limited

("Cooks Coffee", or the "Company" or the "Group")

COOKS COFFEE OUTPERFORMS THE WIDER MARKET IN THE UK AND IRELAND

Trading Update

Cooks Coffee Company (NZX:CCC; AQUIS:COOK), the international coffee focused café chain, announces a positive trading update for the three months ended 31 December 2025, together with an update for the nine months of the financial year to the same date.

The Group has delivered a strong trading performance across both the UK and Ireland during the year, with continued growth in system sales, positive like-for-like sales and disciplined network expansion.

Trading performance

For the nine months ended 31 December 2025, Esquires Coffee UK achieved total system sales of NZ$49.4m with growth of 28.6%, with like-for-like sales growth of 5.1%.

In Ireland, total system sales increased by 27.7% to NZ$9.9m, with like-for-like sales growth of 6.3%.

This momentum continued into the Q4, during which:

- UK total sales increased 18.3%, with like-for-like growth of 2.0%

- Ireland delivered total sales growth of 26.8%, with like-for-like growth of 3.4%

Market Context

According to data published by the Allegra World Coffee Portal, the UK branded coffee shop market recorded outlet growth of 3.5% and sales value growth of 5.5% during 2025. Against this backdrop, the Board is pleased with Esquires Coffee’s performance, which continues to outperform the wider market on both sales growth and network expansion with store sales for the calendar year 2025 of NZ$64.6m in the UK and NZ$28.9m in Ireland.

Store network

Esquires Coffee continued to expand its footprint across both core markets during the period.

In the UK, the network opened 18 new stores and closed 7, resulting in a net gain of 11 stores and 81 stores trading at year end (2024: 70).

In Ireland, four new stores were opened with no closures, resulting in a net gain of four stores and 21 stores trading at year end (2024: 17). Of these, 17 are franchised and four are company managed.

Post-period Developments

The Group recently announced that Esquires Coffee has entered into a Master Franchise Agreement ("MFA") for the United Arab Emirates ("UAE"), one of the fastest growing markets for specialty coffee outlets.

The MFA is a 10-year agreement, with a right of renewal, and provides for the opening of a minimum of 50 Esquires Coffee outlets in the UAE over the term of the agreement. The parties to the agreement are successful operators in the UK with multiple stores in the Southeast of England.

Outlook

The Board remains encouraged by the Group’s trading momentum, the resilience of the Esquires Coffee brand and the continued demand from franchise partners across both the UK and Ireland. The Company continues to focus on disciplined network expansion, supporting franchisee profitability and performance and maintaining strong brand standards and differentiated food and beverages offerings.

Keith Jackson, Executive Chairman, Cooks Coffee Company, commented:

“We are delighted with the performance delivered across both the UK and Ireland during 2025. The continued growth in system sales and positive like-for-like performance reflect the strength of the Esquires brand and our long-standing focus on quality, organic ingredients and balanced food options

“Against a challenging consumer backdrop, the business has continued to grow, expand the store network and outperform the wider market. We remain focused on disciplined expansion and supporting our franchisees as we continue to build the Esquires Coffee brand internationally.”

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)