JD Wetherspoons says it hopes to open 200 new pubs in the coming years (Picture: Getty)
Wetherspoons has issued an update on which pubs are at risk of closure.
The popular chain has shut 26 of its pubs across the country since July 2023, following several closures the year before.
In its latest update, the firm said five sites are currently at risk as they are either up for sale or under offer.
Wetherspoons enjoyed sales growth of nearly 8% over the 12 months leading up to July this year, when it published its most recent trading update.
Yet it has sold or surrendered the lease on several of its pubs.
The Wetherspoon branches under offer are not guaranteed to be sold, and could remain open if the sale falls through.
Otherwise they will likely be closed in the coming months and repurposed or reopened as a pub under different management.
Map showing where Wetherspoons pubs have either closed or are at risk of closure (Picture: Metro)
The pubs currently under offer are: Hain Line in St Ives, Sir Daniel Arms in Swindon, Foot of the Walk in Leith and Quay in Poole.
One Wetherspoons, Ivor Davies in Cardiff, is on the market.
Wetherspoons regularly reviews which branches are up for sale and sometimes takes them off the market to continue operating as Spoons pubs.
It previously said most of the recent closures are of venues which are ‘smaller and older’, or where the company has a second pub reasonably nearby.
The number of Wetherspoons pubs in the UK has fallen by around 150 in the past decade (Picture: Getty)
JD Wetherspoon boss Sir Tim Martin has trimmed down his roster of pubs from 950 a decade ago to around 800 today.
Tim Martin said in the latest trading update: ‘The gradual recovery in sales and profits, following the pandemic, has continued in the current financial year.
‘Total sales are, again, at record levels, with fewer pubs.’
Wetherspoons has long been known for its cut-price beer and food, with the pub chain refusing to increase the cost of its £5.75 breakfast.
Business took a battering during the cost-of-living crisis (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)
While dozens of Wetherspoons have shut, Martin said the chain hopes to open new branches as inflation finally eases. Sites in 130 towns and cities are being eyed up.
Several have already opened in the last 12 months, including the Captain Flinders near Euston Station, London, The Lion and Unicorn opened at Waterloo Station also in London, the Star Light at Heathrow Airport, The Grand Assembly in Marlow and the Scribbling Mill in the White Rose Shopping Centre, in Leeds.
A number of sites have also been expanded, including the Red Lion, Skegness; the Talk of the Town, Paignton; the Albany Palace, Trowbridge and the Mile Castle, Newcastle.
‘People are happy to go out for a pint if you keep the price competitive. It’s not like buying a sofa,’ Martin told The Guardian in March.
Bosses say sales have continued to rise despite losing pubs (Picture: Getty)
He later told The Sun he …read more
Source:: Metro
