Wetherspoon sales could turn flat as cost pressures brew March 18, 2026 Never known to shy away from calling out the issues that push up the price of a pint, JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin looked to be setting expectations at the weekend when he warned the war in Iran will hit punters in their pockets. The UK’s best-known pub chain will announce its half-year finances on [...]
Wetherspoon boss backs Reform pub package – and defends dog policy February 9, 2026 Sir Tim Martin, chairman of JD Wetherspoon, has called on hospitality firms to back Reform’s proposed pub support package, arguing it would “utterly transform” the landscape for pubs. In a stock exchange release, Martin said Reform’s proposals would offer pubs “tax parity” with supermarkets. “By eliminating the tax differential between supermarkets and the hospitality industry, [...]
Betfred brothers, Alex Gerko, Mike Ashley: Top UK taxpayers revealed January 31, 2026 Betting entrepreneurs Peter Done and Denise Coates, traders Alex Gerko and Chris Rokos, and high street kingpins Tim Martin and Mike Ashley are among the top taxpayers in the UK, new analysis has revealed. Betfred founders Fred and Peter Done paid the most cash into HMRC over the past year, according to The Sunday Times’ [...]
Wetherspoon shares sink after business rates knock profit January 21, 2026 Wetherspoon shares slumped on Wednesday after the pub giant laid bare the scale of the financial hit from November’s tax-raising Budget. The FTSE 250 member said cost rises across energy, wages, repairs and business rates had put up costs by a staggering £45m in the 25 weeks to mid-January. That would imply a cost rise [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Trump to rock davos; Stocks dip after inflation January 21, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Inflation spiked above expectations this morning, coming in at 3.4 per cent, according to fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This soared above a poll of economists by Bloomberg expecting 3.3 per cent. “Inflation ticked up a little in December, driven partly [...]
‘Maximum’ 20p increase for Spoons breakfast next year, says Tim Martin December 1, 2025 JD Wetherspoon will make sure the price of its breakfast doesn’t rise by more than 20p next year, boss Tim Martin said on Monday. The confirmation comes despite serious pressure on hospitality from tax hikes and food costs, with warnings of inflation across the sector. Speaking on LBC radio this morning, Sir Tim Martin told [...]
JD Wetherspoon: Profit rockets as Tim Martin takes jab at tax rises October 3, 2025 JD Wetherspoon has reported another successful quarter after outperforming the wider hospitality market again, although boss Tim Martin has warned on the effects of taxing the sector too hard. The pub giant told markets this morning that like-for-like sales rose 5.1 per cent year on year, while revenue rose 4.5 per cent to £2.12bn. Profit [...]
JD Wetherspoons: Sales overtake pre-pandemic levels July 23, 2025 Sales at JD Wetherspoon have overtaken pre-pandemic levels for the first time after a sluggish five years for the hospitality industry. Revenues at its 794 pubs have grown 5.1 per cent in the year to date, the company told markets this morning, putting growth at the chain above the industry average. “Sales volumes, which were [...]
Greene King vs Spoons: Who is winning the great British pub battle? May 20, 2025 There are few well-populated areas of the UK where you can’t find either a Greene King or JD Wetherspoon pub. The two titans of the British pubs industry together operate thousands of locations each across the country and are staples of most urban areas. Both are major contributors to the UK economy – providing employment [...]
JD Wetherspoon sales jump despite continued pub sell-off May 7, 2025 Sales at JD Wetherspoon jumped five per cent over the last quarter as the pub giant continued to sell more locations. The pub giant has sold off seven of its pubs since the start of the year, despite opening only two new ones, it said in a trading update today. It said it expected to [...]