Too early to judge Tory alcohol tax proposals

It is too early to assess the implications of tax proposals on alcohol being put forward by the Conservative party, JD Wetherspoon chief executive John Hutson said today.

Responding to comments made by the shadow chancellor George Osbourne - who indicated that higher tax should be applied to alcopops and the tax burden reduced on weaker beers and lagers - Hutson said: "We haven't discussed these [proposals] at board level. But along with many others in our industry we'd like to see as little interference in our businesses as possible."

Consumers weren't drinking stronger products than before, Hutson believed. "A number of years ago young people were drinking things like Diamond White, which came in at around eight per cent ABV, and now they drink Magners cider at 4.5 per cent."

Hutson said he hoped for a reduction in duty in next week's Budget, but added he'd "seen nothing from the government to indicate it will do anything different [in the Budget] from pervious years".

Hutson also declined to comment specifically on Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin's comments about the impact of private equity involvement in the pub trade.

Martin had said the drive by some financial firms towards short term profits was having a detrimental effect on the pub trade in general.

Hutson said: "What will be the legacy of the private equity trend? Who knows? There are lots of pubcos out there without freeholds and lots of debt. We'd like more freeholds but we don't plan to change our freehold/leasehold mix [of 42/58] in the near future."