Wetherspoon is closing another 22 pubs - with 28 already sold so far this year

Wetherspoon is set to shut another 22 pubs after having already sold 28 so far this year.

The pub giant is offloading more sites in a fire sale as a part of an overhaul of its estate.

But they denied it was a “money-raising exercise” as the brand kept mute on the pubs in danger - refusing to reveal which ones could soon pull their last pint.

The move comes following tough trading conditions for pubs after sky-rocketing energy prices and higher food prices.

Wetherspoon argued “almost all” of the pubs being shuttered were in areas where they had another boozer close by.

On its pre-close trading update released today, the firm said: "Twenty-two pubs remain on the market, or are under offer. The company currently has a trading estate of 827 pubs."

The pub giant has already shut 28 sites (Getty Images)

Online, a number pubs are listed as for sale or under offer and it isn't clear which of these have been sold, leaving the others at risk of shuttering.

All sites are to remain trading as Wetherspoon until a sale has been officially completed, and will likely continue for a bit of time afterwards until the plan for the site is announced by Wetherspoons.

It is thought the following pubs are at risk of shutting, with some under offer, and others remaining available to buy.

These sites were said to be under offer:

1. Asparagus - Battersea
2. General Sir Redvers Buller - Crediton
3. Millers Well - East Ham
4. The Bankers Draft - Eltham
5. Hudson Bay - Forest Gate
6. Capitol - Forest Hill
7. The Saltoun Inn - Fraserburgh
8. The Percy Shaw - Halifax
9. Coronet - Holloway
10. The Alfred Herring - Palmers Green
11. The Cross Keys - Peebles
12. Foxley Hatch - Purley
13. The Butlers Bell - Stafford
14. The Widow Frost - Mansfield

A further eight pubs were said to be "available" which means they are up for sale so could be saved if a buyer is found.

The 22 pubs are under offer or available to buy (AFP via Getty Images)

These include:

1. Lord Arthur Lee - Fareham
   
2. Plough & Harrow - Hammersmith
3. Jolly Sailor - Hanham
4. World's Inn - Romford
   
5. Sennockian - Sevenoaks
6. Former Tusk Nightclub & Waverly Tea Rooms - Watford
7. Wrong ‘Un - Bexleyheath
   
8. Moon on the Hill, Harrow

It's could be these 22 pubs which are up for sale, as so far this financial year, 28 pubs have already been shut, whilst three have been opened.

Fifteen of the closed pubs had a lease expire or the company exercise its 'break clause' and 12 of these had another Spoons nearby.

Eleven of the remaining 13 pubs were also said to have another Wetherspoon close by.

Here's the list of the 28 pubs that have already shut for good

1. The John Masefield, New Ferry
2. Angel, Islington
3. The Silkstone Inn, Barnsley
4. The Billiard Hall, West Bromwich
5. Admiral Sir Lucius Curtis, Southampton
6. The Colombia Press, Watford
7. The Malthouse, Willenhall
8. The John Masefield, New Ferry
9. Thomas Leaper, Derby
10. Cliftonville, Hove
11. Tollgate, Harringay
12. Last Post, Loughton
13. Harvest Moon, Orpington
14. Alexander Bain, Wick
15. Chapel an Gansblydhen, Bodmin
16. Moon on the Square, Basildon
17. Coal Orchard, Taunton
18. Running Horse, Airside Doncaster Airport
19. Wild Rose, Bootle
20. Edmund Halley, Lee Green
21. The Willow Grove, Southport
22. Postal Order, Worcester
23. North and South Wales Bank, Wrexham
24. The Sir John Stirling Maxwell, Glasgow
25. The Knight's Templar, London
26. Christopher Creeke, Bournemouth
27. The Water House, Durham
28. The Worlds Inn, Romford

Last September that 32 pubs were being put up for sale due to a “commercial decision”.

It said it was a "misinterpretation" to suggest the move was down to difficult trading conditions.

It said: "In fact, the disposals have raised relatively modest amounts (although every little helps) and almost all are related to circumstances ... where there is another Wetherspoon pub nearby."

But as energy costs finally ease, Wetherspoon notched up another double-figure hike in sales.

They saw sales lift 11.5% year on year in the 10 weeks so far of its final trading quarter and are up 12.9% in the financial year to date.

Compared with pre-Covid trading in 2018-19, sales in the fourth quarter so far are 11% higher.

The firm said profits for the year to July 30 are set to be in line with market expectations, having improved its outlook in May.

It added that lower costs are set to boost its performance in the next financial year.

Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said: "As a result of a continued improvement in sales and a slightly reduced expectation for cost increases, for example energy costs, the company anticipates an improved outcome for the next financial year, and anticipates an outcome for the first half of 2023-24 approximately in line with the second half of 2022-23."

In May, Wetherspoon predicted record sales for the year to July after sales jumped 12.2% in the three months to April 30 thanks to a bumper Easter and May bank holiday trading.