JD Wetherspoon denies £30m loss linked to pub sales
Pub chain JD Wetherspoon has reported a pre-tax loss of £30.4m in the 53 weeks to 31 July 2022.
Commenting on the figures, chairman Tim Martin blamed a “painstakingly slow” pandemic recovery, adding pubs faced a “momentous challenge” to get back customers ho had “filled their fridges” with cheaper supermarket beer during lockdown.
Like-for-like sales during the period were down 4.7% but have risen 10.1% in the nine weeks to 2 October. The company reported a £102.5m pre-tax profit in 2019.
The chain, which operates around 800 pubs in the UK and Ireland, previously said losses would be higher than expected this year after raising staff wages and investing in site repairs.
Martin said: “The hospitality industry pays far higher levels of VAT and business rates than supermarkets. This competitive disadvantage has had an increasingly debilitating impact on the hospitality industry and will undoubtedly result in long-term financial weakness vis a vis supermarkets, which will also be harmful to employees, the Treasury and the overall economy.”
During the 53-week period, Wetherspoon sold, closed or terminated the leases of 15 pubs, giving rise to a cash inflow of £5.9m.
Just day ago The Clover Group’s purchase of The Eglantine Inn on Belfast’s Malone Road put to bed rumours that Tim Martin’s JD Wetherspoon chain was set to add it to its huge portfolio.
The company recently put 32 pubs up for sale but insisted the move was part a long-term strategy rather than a reaction to difficulties arising from the pandemic.
