JD Wetherspoon says it has potential for 1,000 pubs
JD Wetherspoon has said it estimates that it has potential for about 1,000 pubs in the UK.
The pub giant has been reducing the size of its estate over the last decade, trading from 814 pubs at the end of January, down from a peak of 955 sites in December 2015.
JD Wetherspoon said that despite a reduction in the number of its pubs, sales have continued to increase, with total sales now one third higher than in 2015, when the size of its estate peaked, while sales per pub have also increased by around 50% since then.
Since 2010, the pub group has invested £448m in acquiring the freehold reversions of pubs where it was previously the tenant. 71% of the group’s pubs are now freehold, up from 41% in 2010.
JD Wetherspoon has also recently opened pubs such as the Captain Flinders near Euston Station, London; the Stargazer, The O2; The Star Light, Heathrow Airport, and the Scribbling Mill at White Rose Shopping Centre, Leeds.
This comes as the group releases its results for the half year ending 26 January 2024, a period during which its like-for-like sales increased year-on-year by 9.9%.
During the period, group revenue increased year-on-year by 8.2% to £991m, whilst pre-tax profit increased by 682.6% to £36m. The group’s operating profit also increased year-on-year by 81% to £67.7m.