JD Wetherspoon has revealed its sales are behind pre-pandemic levels as boss Tim Martin said far more people now drink at home
(Picture: Dominic Lipinski / PA)Wetherspoons is set to dwindle somewhat in 2023 following news that the chain is set to close several of its watering holes.
Due to escalating costs, the low-cost pub business announced in 2022 that it will close approximately 40 of its establishments.
The company currently owns more than 800 pubs across Great Britain, with many housed in unique and historic buildings.
So far, 11 pubs have been sold off, with their doors closing for good.
Which pubs are at risk? Here’s everything you need to know.
Why are Wetherspoons pubs closing?
Tim Martin, the chairman who set up Wetherspoons, claimed the current situation is a result of both the pandemic and rising prices for things like food, energy, and maintenance.
While the pub chain's sales increased at the end of 2022, like-for-like sales at Wetherspoons are still two per cent behind 2019 levels, indicating that the company is still having trouble matching its pre-pandemic performance.
Martin said: “The aftermath of the pandemic and lockdown restrictions have been far more difficult than anyone thought.
“That is the picture for the whole pub and restaurant industry. People thought that, after lockdown, there would be a boom in people suffering from cabin fever but, instead, it has almost been the opposite situation, as people have got in the habit of staying in.
“That’s the big thing that means sales are down on 2019. Things are improving now but it’s slow.”
Despite the fallback, Martin added he remains “cautiously optimistic” about Wetherspoons’ future.
Which Wetherspoons pubs are up for sale in London?
- Asparagus - Battersea
- Miller’s Well - East Ham
- Bankers Draft - Eltham
- Hudson Bay - Forest Gate
- Capitol - Forest Hill
- Plough & Harrow - Hammersmith
- Toll Gate - Hornsey
- Penderel’s Oak - Holborn
- Angel - Islington
- Alfred Herring - Palmers Green
- Milan Bar - Croydon
- Toll Gate - Haringey
- Coronet - Holloway
Which Wetherspoons pubs are up for sale in the rest of the UK?
- Silkstone Inn - Barnsley
- Hope and Champion - Beaconsfield
- Wrong ‘Un - Bexleyheath
- Christopher Creeke - Bournemouth
- Bank House - Cheltenham
- General Sir Redvers Buller - Crediton
- Thomas Leaper - Derby
- Water House - Durham
- Lord Arthur Lee - Fareham
- Saltoun Inn - Fraserburgh
- Percy Shaw - Halifax
- Jolly Sailor - Hanham
- Moon on the Hill - Harrow
- Cliftonville Inn - Hove
- Moon & Bell - Loughborough
- Last Post - Loughton
- Widow Frost - Mansfield
- Resolution - Middlesborough
- Foxley Hatch - Purley
- Rising Sun - Redditch
- Cross Keys, Peebles - Scottish Borders
- Sennockian - Southampton
- Admiral Sir Lucius Curtis - Sevenoaks
- Butler’s Bell - Stafford
- Colombia Press - Watford
- Billiard Hall - West Bromwich
- Malthouse - Willenhall
- John Masefield - Wirral
