Cooks Coffee Company, the fourth largest coffee focused café chain in the UK, has completed its dual listing on the Aquis Stock Exchange.

The NZQ-listed company, which operates under two brands – Esquires and Triple Two Coffee – in the UK, said it was on track to open 18 sites this financial year “showing a net 21% gain in store numbers for the financial year in the UK and Ireland”.

The listing comes after Cooks last month announced plans to raise up to £1.5m through a rights issue in New Zealand and private placement.

Keith Jackson, executive chairman of Cooks Coffee said he was delighted the dual listing had been achieved to support the continued expansion of the group “as it builds a business of ethical coffee brands with community spirit”.

“Our Esquires and Triple Two brands continue to perform well and I am delighted with our consistent outperformance of the market, thanks to the efforts of our staff, franchisees and their teams,” he said.

Jackson outlined plans for new outlets that would include innovative offerings reflecting the local environment, including, where appropriate, an alcohol offering.

This would give the company the opportunity to “establish a unique market position between a café and restaurant, whilst retaining the essence of the café culture”.

The addition of mobile vans in October had also opened a new and exciting area of the market for the company, Jackson added.

“As our strong sales performance and new store pipeline demonstrates, neither the uncertainty in respect of the wider UK and Irish economies nor consumer attitudes towards discretionary spending have to date impacted our sales,” he said.

“We continue to benefit from people staying local, working from home, and supporting their community, which are trends that we believe are permanent.”

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 of the end of September 2022.