10 October 2022
Cooks Coffee Company Limited
("Cooks Coffee", the "Company" or the Group)
Capital Raising and Proposed Admission to Trading on the Aquis Stock Exchange
Cooks Coffee Company (NZX:CCC) the international coffee focused café chain, has today announced, in conjunction with the Company's proposed admission to trading on the Aquis Stock Exchange, a planned fund raising of £1.5 million through a rights issue in New Zealand and a private placement. Cooks 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 Coffee is the fourth largest coffee focussed café chain in the UK (behind Starbucks, Costa and Caffè Nero), building a family of brands serving coffee, a full range of complementary beverages and an extensive range of food.
The Group operates under two brands: Esquires Organic Coffee was founded nearly 30 years ago and Cooks Coffee acquired the global rights (excluding Australia and New Zealand), focusing on operations in the UK and Ireland in 2013. Triple Two Coffee was acquired in June 2020 and has an offering that is complementary to Esquires. Triple Two was founded in 2016 and it is currently one of the fastest growing coffee focused cafe brands in the UK.
With Esquires and Triple Two, Cooks Coffee has 111 outlets across the UK, Ireland and its international markets as at the end of September 2022.
The Company's admission to trading on the Growth Market of the Aquis Stock Exchange, alongside its continuing NZX Main Board listing, is expected to occur on or around 2 November 2022.
VSA Capital Limited has initiated research coverage on Cooks, which can be accessed on: www.cookscoffeecompany.com
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.
"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. I look forward to providing further updates in due course as we progress our planned dual listing on the Aquis Growth Market in London and continue to grow the business."
* Assuming admission to Aquis
Enquiries:
| Cooks Coffee Company Limited |
+64 21 702 509 (New Zealand) |
| Keith Jackson (Executive Chairman) |
+44 (0) 20 3814 5627 (UK) |
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| IFC Advisory Limited (Financial PR & IR) |
+44 (0) 20 3934 6630 |
| Tim Metcalfe Graham Herring |
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| Florence Chandler
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VSA Capital Limited (Aquis Corporate Adviser & Broker) |
+44 (0) 20 3005 5000 |
| Andrew Raca, Pascal Wiese (Corporate Finance) |
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| David Scriven, Peter Mattsson (Corporate Broking) |
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To find out more, visit www.cookscoffeecompany.com
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