Java Considers Bourse Debut in Nairobi

Java Coffee House indicated it will seek to prepare for a prospective listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) if shareholders believe it is a feasible option for the company’s future growth.

Java is about to change hands again, following the statement by Actis, a London-based investment group, that it will exit the business four years after acquiring it from Abraaj Group, a Dubai-based private equity fund.

“The opportunity in the public markets still exists for us. As management, at the end of the day, it’s to make the business ready for that and prepare the business for such a day and we are sure that day is coming, it’s just a matter of when. When the shareholders decide that an IPO is the way to go, we will be ready for it,” Java Coffee House Chief Finance Officer, Orge Godana, says.

The restaurant is now looking to resume aggressive expansion of restaurants after its online and delivery sales moderated to 10.0 percent of total turnover in the year June 2023, down from the above 20.0 percent peak reported at the height of Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.

Java has 86 restaurants across the country and is set to establish its first location in Meru County in the next months, following record revenues in the fiscal year ending June 2023.

According to the management, additional sites for potential expansion in East Africa have been identified.

“We already exist in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda and we are looking to expand in these markets significantly. In the pre-2019 period online and delivery sales were not a significant part of our business but this has now grown.”