Last orders: Pub numbers sink amid calls for further support October 10, 2022 The number of pubs vanishing from communities in England and Wales increased by 50 per cent in the last three months, according to new data, amid warnings that more must be done to protect the great British institution. During the three months to the end of September, 150 pubs were either demolished or converted into other [...]
Tim Martin hits out at UK’s Covid policies as Wetherspoons sales linger below pre-pandemic levels October 7, 2022 JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has hit out at the UK’s Covid restrictions after warning the pub group is still suffering from the adverse effects of Covid-19. The pub company said its sales had failed to return to pre-pandemic levels as it posted losses of £30.4m for the past financial year, on the back of [...]
Tim Martin: Pubs should not subsidise supermarkets, JD Wetherspoon boss says September 12, 2022 JD Wetherspoon’s chair has called on ministers to slash VAT for pubs and make the taxes “fair and equitable” between retail and hospitality. The budget pub chain is to cut the price of food and drink in its venues by 7.5 per cent on Thursday this week, in a call for a return to the [...]
London’s FTSE 100 jumps as Liz Truss mulls cost of living support package September 6, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 jumped today driven by investors being reassured by new prime minister Liz Truss preparing to ramp up support for households and businesses this week. The capital’s premier index added 0.18 per cent to reach 7,300.44 points, while the mid-cap domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the [...]
Hospitality firms plead for energy bill support to survive ‘dire’ situation worse than pandemic August 16, 2022 A host of hospitality and small business bodies yesterday warned that many pubs, restaurants and hotels will not survive the “onslaught” of higher energy costs in the coming months. Representative bodies including UK Hospitality warned politicians that unlike domestic customers, rates are not capped for small businesses. Last week analysts at forecaster Cornwall Insight suggested [...]
Explainer-in-brief: A long journey of pain for pubs July 19, 2022 It’s a tricky time for pubs – again. Amidst rising energy costs and staff shortages, pubs are struggling to keep their doors open. Fifteen per cent of independent pubs surveyed by the British Institute of Innkeeping said their business is no longer viable. Just days ago the giant JD Wetherspoon warned that higher labour costs [...]
JD Wetherspoon beer sales lag pre-Covid levels as recovery ‘more laborious than anticipated’ July 13, 2022 JD Wetherspoon has said sales of pints were eight per cent below pre-pandemic trading and it expects to post higher losses this year. While a “boom in pub sales” had been anticipated following the easing lockdown measures, recovery for many venues had been “slower and more laborious than was anticipated,” the budget pub chain said. [...]
JD Wetherspoon shareholders await impact of cost of living on budget pub chain’s pint sales July 10, 2022 Investors will be eager to see if the cost of living crisis has made any dent to JD Wetherspoon sales in the budget pub chain’s quarterly update this week. Analysts said a wider downturn in consumer spending could be mitigated by the chain’s cheaper prices enticing drinkers but thin margins risked a gloomy verdict. The [...]
High street bosses plead for crisis cash to help with dramatic energy bill hikes May 18, 2022 High street businesses have called for emergency help over skyrocketing energy bills, as bosses warn a cocktail of cost pressures threaten to subdue their pandemic recovery. Without government action, historic levels of inflation and dramatic energy bill rises pose a risk to the beauty sector’s recovery, the British Beauty Council has said. The industry group [...]
Consumers buying more beer as Budweiser maker AB InBev reiterates growth outlook May 5, 2022 Budweiser maker Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) said drinkers are swallowing higher prices and bought more beer in the first quarter. After posting higher than expected earnings, the Belgian brewer reiterated an EBITDA growth outlook of between four and eight per cent for the full year. Consumers had bought 2.8 more drinks by volume in the [...]