JD Wetherspoon reports loss of £13m but trade bouncing back

JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has warned his pub chain is facing higher costs for food, drink and energy, despite the fact its sales are starting to return to normal following the end of Covid restrictions.

His comments came as Wetherspoons reported a half-year loss of £13m but said sales in the most recent three-week period were just 2.6% below pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Mr Martin, above, said: “There is pressure on input costs from food, drink and energy suppliers, mitigated to an extent, by a number of long-term contracts.”

Wetherspoon’s latest results showed it narrowed pre-tax losses to £13m for the six months to 23 January, compared with a £68m loss a year earlier, with sales of £807m that were 13.5% lower than pre-pandemic levels.

Mr Martin said: “Following a traumatic two years for many businesses and people, the ending of COVID restrictions has brought a return to more normal trading patterns in recent weeks.

“Draconian restrictions, which amount to a lockdown-by-stealth, are, of course, kryptonite for hospitality, travel, leisure and many other businesses.

“The company is confident of a strong future if restrictions are avoided.”

He insisted the company had not been affected by labour shortages reported in some sectors, operating with a “full complement of staff” and that there were no significant supply chain issues affecting the business, with bars “fully stocked, with some minor exceptions.”

The London-listed business has a market value of more than £1bn. It has 859 pubs across the country – 13 fewer than a year ago and down from a peak of 951 in 2015.