Wetherspoon plans up to 25 more pubs as first-quarter sales rise 8.2%
The pub chain expects to open five to 10 managed pubs and 10 to 15 franchised ones this financial year, after bar sales grew 9.4% in the 14 weeks to 1 November.
JD Wetherspoon could add as many as 25 pubs this financial year, the company said in a trading update on Wednesday.
It expects to open between five and 10 more managed pubs, on top of the 797 it now runs. Its franchised estate, which has 25 sites, is expected to grow by another 10 to 15.
Six managed pubs have opened since the financial year began, at Manchester Airport, Heathrow Airport, Crewe, Ferndown in Dorset, Dibden Purlieu in Hampshire and Kempston in Bedfordshire.
First-quarter sales
Like-for-like sales, which strip out the effect of new openings, rose 8.2% in the 14 weeks to 1 November.
- Bar sales were up 9.4%
- Food sales rose 6.8%
- Hotel room sales were 1.4% lower
Total sales, including the new pubs, were 9.1% higher than a year earlier.
Growth eased a little as the quarter went on. Sales rose 8.6% in the first nine weeks and 7.5% in the last five.
Net debt stood at £736 million at the end of the quarter, down from £756 million a year earlier.
Chairman Tim Martin said the company had made a good start to the year but that there were three quarters still to go, and that profit forecasts depended heavily on sales growth. Wetherspoon said it remained comfortable with what City analysts expect it to make this year, adjusted for a financial year that runs to 53 weeks.
