Minimum wage is lowering standards of living, argues Wetherspoons boss Business The founder and chairman of budget pub chain JD Wetherspoon has warned that minimum wage is making lowering people’s living standards by limiting companies’ ability to increase pay and hire. Sir Tim Martin argued that rather than serve as a safety net to protect workers, minimum wage is now doing more harm than good, following [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Trump to rock davos; Stocks dip after inflation Markets 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 hospitality 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 [...]
Pub bosses in joint call for ‘urgent’ tax reform July 14, 2025 Pub bosses have called for urgent reform of the business rates system, arguing that the levy places unfair pressure on hospitality venues at a time of rising costs across the board. Greene King boss Nick Mackenzie said that business rates should be “fundamentally reformed” so that the tax – which applies to all commercial venues [...]
Mitchells & Butlers: Profit at All Bar One owner jumps as Brits keep spending May 22, 2025 All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers has reported half-year profit ahead of the market despite significant cost headwinds. The All Bar One and Harvester owner told markets this morning that total revenue reached £1,454m in the 28 weeks ended April 12, up four per cent year on year. Operating profit rose 10 per cent to [...]
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 [...]
Wetherspoon, Marston’s and Young’s manage to fend off UK pubs crisis – for now May 13, 2025 Some of the UK’s biggest pub chains – JD Wetherspoon, Marston’s and Young’s – have all proved surprisingly resilient in avoiding the hospitality crisis predicted last Autumn. The London-listed companies have all reported better-than-expected trading over the last year, despite very low business and consumer confidence. In an update to markets this morning, Marston’s reported [...]
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 [...]
Wetherspoons fails to prove cider is not alcohol in tax dispute April 24, 2025 Budget boozer Wetherspoons unsuccessfully argued cider did not fall within the meaning of 'alcoholic beverages' in a VAT dispute with HMRC