JDW blames red tape for cut back on new openings

Concerns over red tape and the new licensing regime have prompted pub operator JD Wetherspoon to cut back on pub openings.

Outspoken company founder Tim Martin said the burden of regulation means pubs are in danger of becoming uncompetitive compared to an evening in.

Increases including national insurance, excise duty and stamp duty mean pubs are paying around 40 per cent of turnover in tax, said Mr Martin. He also blamed a profit decline of one per cent on higher labour, repair and insurance costs.

The company revealed it opened just 45 new pubs in the year to June, down from 87 the year before.

"Whereas we continue to see opportunities for profitable expansion, the uncertainty created by increased red tape and taxation means that it is prudent to reduce the rate of that expansion," said Mr Martin. He added that the pub group would not take on more debt in order to fund expansion.

"Nobody is going to cry into their beers for JD Wetherspoon with profits of £50m, but stamp duty is a direct tax on small businesses. I think it's very short-sighted."

The Wetherspoon chairman is also predicting that the transfer of licensing responsibility to local authorities "will involve a substantial increase in fees and other regulatory costs".

Kate Nicholls, spokeswoman for the industry's Red Tape Costs campaign, said: "Wetherspoon is a member of the campaign and of course we wholeheartedly endorse what Tim Martin has said. Pubs and publicans are being slowly strangled by bureaucratic regulations, and unless something is done soon it will be too late for many."

The campaign, which has the backing of The Publican, has launched a petition to see just how much bureaucracy affects licensees. Make your voice heard - click here​ to fill in our petition.