JD Wetherspoon to vary pub licences in late-night levy protest
The c.950-strong pubco has lodged applications to alter licences at its 10 pubs in the City of London and Islington this week, after both local authorities approved the measure earlier this year. The fee will be implemented in Islington after 1 September, with the City of London following from 1 October. Councils in Newcastle and Cheltenham have introduced the levy.
Late-night levies can be imposed by local authorities on premises authorised to sell alcohol post-midnight. The fee depends on the rateable value of each property, but ranges from £299 to £4,400 per year.
JDW boss Tim Martin told the PMA that “wherever possible” he would vary the licences of all pubs falling under the levies, as and when they are introduced by local councils — so the company will reduce its opening hours.
JDW is adding a condition to its licences, which removes the authorisation to sell alcohol during the period the levy applies, but would allow it to automatically resume sales if the levy falls away without the company having to reapply for the return of the hours.
Most JDW pubs close at midnight on weekdays, but open until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. Its 10 pubs in the City of London and Islington employ about 550 staff, but Martin said it will try to minimise any actual job losses.
'It creates uncertainty'
He said: “What we don’t like is a new tax which doesn’t really apply to the off-trade, because people can buy alcohol, put it in the fridge and consume it after midnight.
“The other thing is that once you start paying it, there’s no future cap. It may go up to higher levels, which creates uncertainty. An element of trade will be lost, but we hope people will stick by us when we say we’re trying to avoid yet another pub tax.”
Martin said one pub in a late-night levy area had already paid the annual charge, but he would alter the licence before the fee was imposed again.
