Cooks Coffee Company has announced a planned £1.5m fund raising in conjunction with the international café chain’s proposed admission on the Aquis Stock Exchange.
The fund raise would be through a rights issue in New Zealand a private placement.
The New Zealand-based company, which operates Esquires and Triple Two Coffee, has instructed
VSA Capital Limited, its Aquis Corporate Adviser and Broker, to place any shares not subscribed for through the rights issue.
Any such shares, which will be in the form of Depository Interests, will be capable of being traded* on the Aquis Growth Market and held in CREST.
Cooks’ admission to trading on the growth market of the Aquis Stock Exchange is expected to occur on or around 2 November 2022.
The company recently announced plans to grow its UK estate by 10%, as part of plans to reach 120 stores globally by the start of 2023. Cooks Coffee currently has 111 outlets across the UK, Ireland and its international markets as at the end of September 2022.
Keith Jackson, executive chairman of Cooks Coffee Company, said: “We are delighted to be coming to the Aquis Stock Exchange, raising capital for growth and expanding our shareholder base in the UK.
“Building on our position as the fourth largest coffee focussed café chain in the UK and the largest solely franchisor focused café chain in the UK and Ireland, we see considerable opportunities for further growth.”
Cooks Coffee acquired the global rights (excluding Australia and New Zealand), to operate Esquires Organic Coffee, and has focused its operations on the UK and Ireland. Triple Two Coffee was acquired in June 2020 and has an offering that is complementary to Esquires.
Jackson added: “The Cooks Coffee franchise model promotes individual entrepreneurship and local community engagement, which appears to be resonating both with people who want to partner with us to open new sites and existing franchisees looking to grow their businesses through innovative new offerings.
“Having emerged from the pandemic in a healthy position I believe Cooks Coffee is now poised for significant growth that will deliver value for our shareholders.”
