Wetherspoon | Common News Update

Oct162020 by adminNo Comments

‘No obvious basis in science’: Wetherspoon boss hits out at ‘ill-thought-out’ COVID-19 rules

Business

Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin has lashed out at the "ever-changing raft of ill-thought-out" coronavirus regulations as the pub chain sank to a £105.4m loss. His renewed criticism came as the company's delayed results also revealed that sales fell by 30% from £1.82bn to £1.26bn in the year to 26 July. It is the first time the firm has posted a loss in 36 years.Live coronavirus updates from the UK and around the world Image: Restrictions imposed under Tiers 1, 2 and 3 of England's lockdown system Last year it enjoyed pre-tax profits of more than £100m. ...

Sep222020 by adminNo Comments

Premier Inn owner cuts 6,000 jobs as Wetherspoon calls time on airport roles

Business

Two major employers in the UK's hospitality sector have announced thousands of proposed job losses between them, hours before the government is to outline new restrictions to tackle rising COVID-19 infection rates.The owner of the Premier Inn chain of hotels and Brewers Fayre restaurants, Whitbread, said it planned to shed up to 6,000 staff but hoped the majority of the planned losses could be made voluntarily. Just hours later, JD Wetherspoon said 450 pub jobs were at risk to account for a "downturn in trade" at six airports - Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Image: JD Wetherspoon says weak travel demand means its airport outlets are suffering That was on top of up to 130 head office cuts previously dis...

Jan232019 by adminNo Comments

Wetherspoon profits to take £40m hit in run-up to Brexit

Business

By James Sillars, business reporter JD Wetherspoon has warned its half-year profits will take a hit from at least £40m in additional costs in the run-up to the UK's departure from the EU.The pub chain's chairman Tim Martin - a champion of the Brexit cause - also told Sky News it was "b*******" to suggest that the spending slowdown facing the wider high street was linked to consumer caution over Brexit. He used the company's second-quarter trading update to tell investors that a series of cost pressures would combine to hit its bottom line.Mr Martin wrote: "Sales growth has been strong since our last update. Costs, as previously indicated, are considerably higher than the previous year, especially labour, which has increased by about £30m in the...

Apr162018 by adminNo Comments

Wetherspoon shuts down social media accounts

Business

Pub chain JD Wetherspoon says it is closing down all its social media accounts following the "trolling" of MPs and ethnic minorities.The Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts for all 900 pubs and head office are shutting down with immediate effect, the pub operator said.The move also takes account of recent concerns over the misuse of personal data and the addictive nature of social media.A spokesman for the chain told Sky News: "We've noticed a lot of MPs get trolled and some receive some nasty comments and the company doesn't like what's going on - we don't like the general climate of social media."The spokesman confirmed the decision was not related to any specific incident and no JD Wetherspoon account itself was involved in the trolling of any MPs or ethnic or religious minorities....