Cooks Coffee Co Ltd - Auckland, New Zealand-based coffee house chain - Swings to pretax loss of NZD319,000, about GBP155,000, in the half year that ended September 30 from NZD125,000 profit a year before, as revenue slips to NZD2.0 million from NZD2.1 million. Highlights, however, that store sales trends have been "very positive", with UK sales up 22% in the recent half. Those in Ireland are up 12%, despite a "devastating fire" in Cooks Coffee's Longford store. The company had 94 stores as of the end of September, up by six during the half-year. Of these, stores 53 were in the UK and 15 in Ireland under the Esquires brand. Cooks Coffee says it hopes to take this UK and Ireland total of 68 to 78 by the end of March next year, giving the company 105 stores in all. Cooks Coffee says it has appointed RSM UK Restructuring Advisory LLP as liquidators to its Triple Two coffee franchise business, and the investment is fully impaired in the September accounts. The Esquires business is not affected by the liquidation.

Current stock price: 15.00 pence, last traded on AQSE at 19.10p on August 14

12-month change: down 30%

By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor

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