Cuban Cigars Make Strong Comeback In The UK Since 2020
Cuban cigars currently hold 77.3 percent of the UK market, up almost eleven points since 2020. During this period, New World cigars have increased revenue despite losing market share to Cuban cigars.
During the pandemic, Cuban cigars lost a significant portion of market share. In 2019 they held around 72.9 percent; by the end of 2020 this was down to 66.5 percent. Much of this can be attributed to the swift drop in supply caused by the pandemic. However, despite the drop in market share revenue has continued to increase.
On the other hand New World cigars saw an increase in market share at the beginning of the decade. This led many to believe the market was heading toward a more even split between cigars from Cuba and cigars from Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. Instead, over the last few years the market has moved back toward Cuban cigars, even as revenue has increased for all importers in the UK.
Method and Sources
This read uses company filings from Companies House for 2020 to 2024. Hunters and Frankau file full accounts, so turnover and profit come directly from their statements. Tor, Barkers, Davidoff UK, and Bright Leaf often file small company accounts that do not include a profit and loss, so revenue is not shown. For those importers, trading scale is estimated using stock plus trade debtors. Stock reflects product held. Trade debtors reflects money owed by customers. Each importer is then normalised against Hunters and Frankau to keep the comparison consistent.
Movements in reserves and net assets are used as cross checks. All figures refer to importer income, not retail sales, and they describe value. Product mix, credit terms, and stock turn can shift exact numbers, but the method keeps the comparison fair across different filing formats.
Market Share: 2020 to 2024
| Year | Hunters and Frankau | Tor | Barkers | Davidoff | Bright Leaf |
| 2020 | 66.5% | 10.7% | 13.7% | 8.0% | 1.1% |
| 2021 | 69.0% | 10.4% | 11.4% | 6.9% | 2.4% |
| 2022 | 67.8% | 11.3% | 12.2% | 6.7% | 2.0% |
| 2023 | 72.8% | 11.3% | 8.4% | 6.0% | 1.5% |
| 2024 | 77.3% | 8.2% | 7.9% | 5.6% | 1.0% |
From 2020 to 2024, Hunters and Frankau’s market share rose from 66.5 percent to 77.3 percent. The initial drop in share is attributable to the steep fall in supply during the pandemic and hurricane impacts in Cuba. Although the pandemic affected supply for New World cigars too, the impact on the market was not as significant compared with Cuban cigars.
Tor Imports held steady up to 2023, then saw its sharpest decline in 2024. During this period Tor brought several new brands into the country and expanded its portfolio, but the overall mix shifted back toward Cuban lines as supply improved.
Barkers saw the biggest change, moving from 13.7 percent in 2020 to 7.9 percent in 2024. Davidoff stepped down from 8.0 percent to 5.6 percent. Bright Leaf peaked at 2.4 percent in 2021 and then settled near 1.0 percent by 2024.
The pattern is consistent across non-Cuban ranges. When Cuban stock was thin, New World filled the gap. When Cuban stock improved, share moved back.
Availability and price explain most of this. Short supply pushed share toward New World in 2020 and 2021. Normalised supply and higher pricing pulled it back, while broader price rises across both sides lifted income even as New World share fell.
Revenue Levels and Growth
| Year | Hunters and Frankau | Tor | Barkers | Davidoff UK | Bright Leaf |
| 2020 | £19.75m | £3.17m | £4.06m | £2.38m | £0.34m |
| 2021 | £25.53m | £3.84m | £4.20m | £2.54m | £0.87m |
| 2022 | £30.83m | £5.13m | £5.54m | £3.05m | £0.92m |
| 2023 | £49.70m | £7.68m | £5.76m | £4.07m | £1.02m |
| 2024 | £60.26m | £6.42m | £6.18m | £4.33m | £0.80m |
Change since 2020
- Hunters and Frankau: +205%
- Tor: +103%
- Barkers: +52%
- Davidoff UK: +82%
- Bright Leaf: +135%
New World revenue in total rose from about £9.95m in 2020 to about £17.73m in 2024. That is an increase of about £7.78m, roughly 78 percent. The whole market expanded from about £29.70m to about £77.99m over the same period. This means that even though New World cigar importers lost ground when it came the market share, each importer has increased revenue by a significant degree.
Growth over the last five years has been strong, with no clear sign of a major slowdown. If the market grows at a modest rate of 15 percent, importer revenue should reach around £90m by the end of 2025 and should exceed £100m by the end of 2026.
Why The Shift Happened
Although this section is speculative, it’s informed. Cuban share fell in 2020 and 2021 because supply dropped sharply. Retailers filled shelves with New World ranges and their share lifted. As Cuban stock normalised, customers shifted spend back to core Cuban lines.
Although the price increase played a part in the change in revenue. Most standard production cigars in the UK, Cuban and New World, are now roughly double their 2020 prices. This means the price increase may not have had as big of an impact on market share as previously thought.
Cohiba, Trinidad, and some special releases rose in price far beyond that, yet Trinidad sales fell and many of the special editions stay on shelves longer than standard lines. Taken together, that points to limited Cuban supply as the main cause of the share swing, with price rises boosting revenue for everyone rather than driving the shift on their own.
The difference is that Cuban prices jumped suddenly and grabbed headlines while New World prices climbed more gradually.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately this comes down to execution. If Cuban supply stays consistent and retailers keep core lines on the shelf, the current balance holds. If New World importers keep investing in training, account visits, and reliable singles for everyday rotation, they remain essential and grow with the market. On present form importer revenue should pass £100m by the end of 2026.
What is harder to call is the split. Not long ago the talk was of a neat fifty-fifty future. The latest filings show the opposite. Cuba continues to build share and, if availability stays steady, could move past eighty percent within a couple of years. For now, Cuba has the momentum.
