Popular pub chain JD Wetherspoon is putting 32 of its venues up for sale. The business made the "commercial decision" to sell off the locations after previously warning that the company is facing a £30million loss due to rising staff costs and repairs.
According to the Mirror, spokesman Eddie Gershon said: "On occasion, Wetherspoon does put some of its pubs up for sale. This is a commercial decision. We understand that customers and staff will be disappointed with it. The pubs will continue to operate as Wetherspoon outlets until they are sold."
Commercial property specialists CBRE and Savills are managing the sale of the pubs. Those on the market include The Butler's Bell, on Goalgate Street, Stafford, which was almost sold in the past but saved thanks to a 1,012-name petition.
CBRE senior director Toby Hall said: "The excellent mix of locations in this portfolio is rarely seen in the market. With more than half of the portfolio located in London and the south-east and other strong locations in the south-west, Midlands and the north of England we believe the pubs represent an excellent opportunity for existing pub operators and new entrants".
The 32 JD Wetherspoon pubs up for sale:
Barnsley – Silkstone Inn
Beaconsfield – Hope & Champion
Bexleyheath – Wrong ‘Un
Bournemouth – Christopher Creeke
Cheltenham – Bank House
Durham – Water House
Halifax – Percy Shaw
Hanham – Jolly Sailor
Harrow – Moon on the Hill
Hove – Cliftonville Inn
London Battersea – Asparagus
London East Ham – Miller's Well
London Eltham – Bankers Draft
London Forest Gate – Hudson Bay
London Forest Hill – Capitol
London Hornsey – Toll Gate
London Holborn – Penderel's Oak
London Islington – Angel
London Palmers Green – Alfred Herring
Loughborough – Moon & Bell
Loughton – Last Post
Mansfield – Widow Frost
Middlesborough – Resolution
Purley – Foxley Hatch
Redditch – Rising Sun
Sevenoaks - Sennockian
Southampton – Admiral Sir Lucius Curtis
Stafford – Butler's Bell
Watford – Colombia Press
West Bromwich – Billiard Hall
Willenhall – Malthouse
Wirral – John Masefield.
Wetherspoon chairman, Tim Martin, last year came under fire as some of his 872 branches ran out of beer - but few people realise his £448million net worth started with running just one pub. The much-loved pub chain is known for its cheap food and drink, and is almost always the least expensive drinking venue in a town.
Often Wetherspoon, popularly known as Spoons, redevelops old buildings, like banks and post offices, then reopens them with a unique spin. It is also an unexpected hit with real ale fans due to the range of ale it sells. It now employs 43,000 people and made a £76.6million profit in 2020.
The outspoken Wetherspoons boss was born in Norwich in 1955, with a dad who worked for Guinness. He lived in the UK, New Zealand and Northern Ireland, and went to 11 schools as the family moved around. Martin then went on to the University of Nottingham and became a barrister in 1979.
But the 6ft6 pub boss never worked as a lawyer. Instead he bought a bookies-turned-pub in London's Muswell Hill in the same year. For the first month it was called Martin’s Free House, but was renamed Wetherspoon in 1980.
Wetherspoon was the name of one of Martin's teachers, who told him he would never be a success. Forty years later and it's clear Martin has proved the teacher wrong.
The company began opening more pubs in north London, and went from there, opening more and more branches around the country. The company floated on the Stock Exchange on 1992 and became JD Wetherspoon plc. The 'JD' part of the company name 'JD Wetherspoons' was taken from a character in the US TV series
The Dukes of Hazzard. The pub chain then went from strength to strength, opening more venues across the country. In July 1998, Wetherspoon opened 20 pubs in one month - including seven on the same day.
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