Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Abigail O'Leary

Wetherspoons sells off more pubs after £30m loss warning - is your local on the list?

Wetherspoons is to sell off more pubs after a £30million loss warning.

The announcement comes just weeks after it was revealed 32 branches across the country  would be closing, amid spiralling costs for staff and venue repairs.

The pubs now facing closure include the Coronet in Holloway, Cross Keys in Peebles, General Sir Redvers Buller in Crediton, Lord Arthur Lee in Fareham, Plough & Harrow in Hammersmith, Saltoun Inn in Fraserburgh, and the Thomas Leaper in Derby.

The General Sir Redvers Buller is the first Devon pub to face closure, as Exeter-based businessman Tim Martin said he was "cautiously optimistic" about the future.

Wetherspoons has more than 800 pubs and hotels across the UK and Ireland.

The company said trading for the most recent period was closer to its expectations but admitted that October had been a slow month.

Earlier this year, the pub chain announced 32 venues would be sold after warning that it could face losses of £30 million, due to rising staff wages and repairs.

The General Sir Redvers Buller is the first Devon pub to face closure (Wetherspoons)

In a statement last month, Tim Martin said: “During lockdown, dyed-in-the-wool pub-goers, many for the first time, filled their fridges with supermarket beer – and it has proved to be a momentous challenge to persuade them to return to the more salubrious environment of the saloon bar.

“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.”

Wetherspoons has cut its losses significantly, compared to when its pubs were closed over lockdown, but pre-tax losses still stood at £30.4million in the 12 months that ended July 31.

Tim Martin says he is 'cautiously optimistic' about the future (Facundo Arrizabalaga)

The firm had reported a £167million loss last year, off the back of consecutive lockdowns. Before the pandemic, the company made a profit of £132million.

Sales were down 4.3 per cent to £1.74billion in the year to the end of July.

The 32 pubs already listed for closure include:

Barnsley – Silkstone Inn

Beaconsfield – Hope & Champion

Bexleyheath – Wrong ‘Un

Bournemouth – Christopher Creeke

Cheltenham – Bank House

Durham – Water House

Halifax – Percy Shaw

Hanham – Jolly Sailor

The firm had reported a £167million loss last year, off the back of consecutive lockdowns. Before the pandemic, the company made a profit of £132million (In Pictures via Getty Images)

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

The Cross Keys in Peebles is to be sold (Wetherspoons)

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

The first Wetherspoons was opened in 1979 in London's Muswell Hill.

For the first month, it was called Martin’s Free House, but was renamed Wetherspoons in 1980.

Wetherspoon was the name of one of Martin's teachers, who told him he would never be a success.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.