JD Wetherspoon

Tim Martin criticises Jamie Oliver proposal

Wetherspoon boss: Jamie Oliver's sugary drink tax would 'cost pubs millions'

20-Oct-2015 By Oli Gross

Jamie Oliver’s campaign for higher taxes on sugary drinks would ‘cost pubs millions’ and lead to closures if it succeeded, according to JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin.

JDW takes pubs off the market

Two Wetherspoon pubs saved after huge community campaigns

20-Oct-2015 By Oli Gross

Two JD Wetherspoon pubs have been saved after dedicated community campaigns forced the pubco to think again about selling.

Menu prices

High street pub food menu prices decline following increased competition

09-Oct-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

The strain of increased competition in the eating out sector has forced many high street pubs to slash the prices of their dishes, while the amount of side dishes sold increased significantly, according to the latest Horizons’ Menu Trends report.

JDW

Wetherspoon's returns to its roots with £3m Muswell Hill pub

05-Oct-2015 By Oli Gross

JD Wetherspoon will return to its roots when it opens a site in London next week following a £3m investment.

Controversial plans for new Wetherspoons splits town

21-Sep-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Controversial plans for a new Wetherspoons pub in Hertfordshire are facing further delays after borough council officers recommended the planning application be rejected.

Local pub news

Thief hid in Wetherspoons pub while staff locked up before stealing £3,500

16-Sep-2015 By Oli Gross

A thief hid in a Cambridge pub until closing time, stayed out of sight while staff locked up, before stealing £3,500 from its slot machines.

JDW reports 3.3% increase in sales

11-Sep-2015 By Oli Gross

JD Wetherspoon has reported a 3.3% increase in like-for-like sales for the 52 weeks to 26 July, with revenue up 7.4% to £1.51bn, but pre-tax profit down 2% to £77.8m.

JD Wetherspoon’s food sales slow

11-Sep-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

JD Wetherspoon’s food sales have slowed compared with last year, as the pub giant’s chairman criticises excessive food taxes on pubs and a leading City analyst blames a rise in casual dining.

JDW

Wetherspoon's responds after poster telling Muslims to 'get the f*** out' appears on pub notice board

24-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Wetherspoon’s has responded after a poster telling Muslims to “get the f*** out of our countries’ appeared on a noticeboard at the Moon in Square in Feltham

JDW

New beers for JDW pubs during festival

18-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

JDW pubs will be serving ten beers from around the world as part of a 17-day festival. It will be the first time many of the beers will be served in the brand’s pubs, with some brewed exclusively for the festival.

Backlash builds against sale of one of 20 JDW pubs up for sale

14-Aug-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Watford locals have mounted a campaign to save one of the 20 pubs put up for sale by JD Wetherspoon.

JD Wetherspoon

JDW defends pub after claims centipede was found in breakfast

05-Aug-2015 By Oli Gross

JD Wetherspoon has defended a pub after a centipede allegedly crawled out from underneath a customer’s hash brown when he was eating breakfast.

Beer Group recognises Wetherspoons for charity fundraising

14-Jul-2015 By James Evison

Wetherspoons has won recognition from the All-Parliamentary Beer Group for the £10million it has raised for CLIC Sargent and its ongoing commitment to raise a further £1million a year.

Wetherspoons to open 4 pubs in single day

13-Jul-2015 By James Evison

Wetherspoon is opening four pubs on the same day in July.

Property

The lowdown on the JDW pubs for sale

09-Jul-2015 By James Evison

It’s unusual for a big, constantly expanding pubco to put property on the market. But JDW has done just that – in some interesting locations. So, what and where are the sites? Here’s PMA’s guide to some of the sites.

Wetherspoon's to invest £10m on Glasgow hotel development

06-Jul-2015 By Mark Wingett, MC Allegra FS

JD Wetherspoon aims to invest £10m in developing a hotel on a plot of land vacant next to its Crystal Palace pub in Glasgow as well as developing the upper floors to the pub.

Pub Brand Monitor

Wetherspoon's leads pubs on brand awareness

03-Jul-2015 By James Wallin, MC Allegra FS

JDW is on top, while Flaming Grill tops list for experience.

JDW puts 20 pubs on the market

30-Jun-2015 By M&C Report

JD Wetherspoon has placed a package of 20 leasehold pubs on the market.

JD Wetherspoon

JDW hits back over ‘inaccurate’ comments on traveller case

03-Jun-2015 By M&C Report

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has hit back at ‘inaccurate’ newspaper coverage of the second case in a month in which the company had to apologise to a group of travellers.

JDW

JDW forced to apologise to travellers for the second time in a month

29-May-2015 By M and C Report

JD Wetherspoon has been forced to apologise, for the second time in a month, to a group of travellers refused entry to its pubs.

JDW

JDW guilty in 8 of 18 cases of 'direct discrimination' against travellers

18-May-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Central London County Court has ruled on a case after a group of Irish travellers sued JD Wetherspoon for discrimination when they were turned away from a north London pub in 2011.

JDW threatens legal action over meal deal copyright

11-May-2015 By Mark Wingett

JD Wetherspoon has threatened to take legal action against competitors including Stonegate, Greene King, Whitbread and Mitchells & Butlers over meal deals which it says are infringing its copyright.

Licensing

JDW wins late night levy appeal

21-Apr-2015 By Ellie Bothwell

JD Wetherspoon has won an appeal against Newcastle City Council’s refusal to allow the company to vary three of its pubs’ hours to avoid paying a late-night levy.

JDW's new Stansted airport pub set for take off

23-Mar-2015 By James Wallin, M&C Report

JD Wetherspoon is to open a pub at Stansted Airport’s new-look terminal on 30 March.

Wetherspoon joins Mexican wave

23-Mar-2015 By Jo Bruce

Pubco J D Wetherspoon has introduced a Mexican night to its weekly food clubs.

JDW targets increased breakfast sales

16-Mar-2015 By James Wallin, M&C Report

JD Wetherspoon is targeting more coffee and breakfast sales and introducing several drinks offers this week.

Business News

JDW confirms it bid for Sports Bar & Grill but denies valuations

11-Mar-2015 By James Wallin, M&C Report

JD Wetherspoon has confirmed its recent interest in Sports Bar & Grill, but denied the reported valuation and suggestions that it dropped its bid by £4m one day ahead of completion.

JD Wetherspoon named top employer

03-Mar-2015 By James Wallin, M&C Report

JD Wetherspoon has been named one of the Top Employers United Kingdom 2015.

Sports Bar & Grill rejects JDW acquisition bid

03-Mar-2015 By Rob Willock

Bar Holdings – the company behind the Sports Bar & Grill chain – rejected an acquisition bid from JD Wetherspoon earlier this month that initially valued the estate of seven London sites at more than £17m.

Beers made with British hops to star in Wetherspoon beer festival

01-Feb-2015 By Robyn Black

Ten overseas brewers, 50 beers and 22 different hop varieties will feature in a 17 day JD Wetherspoon beer festival this spring.

JDW's Tim Martin slams PMA editor's 'bizarre piece of journalism'

28-Jan-2015 By Tim Martin

Tim Martin, chairman of JD Wetherspoon, has written an open letter to Rob Willock, editor of the Publican’s Morning Advertiser, in response to his article last week.

JDW's Tim Martin hits out at lack of trade support for VAT campaign

21-Jan-2015 By Mike Berry

Wetherspoon’s boss Tim Martin has blamed pubco rivals – and the Publican’s Morning Advertiser – for failing to campaign for tax equality with supermarkets, which he said had resulted in flat bar sales and falling margins.

Wetherspoon and Heineken resolve drinks supply row

05-Jan-2015 By Mike Berry

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) has resolved its row with Heineken over its drinks supply agreement, just under a month after the pubco announced it had ended its 35-year relationship with the brewer.

JD Wetherspoon acquires Head of Steam in Liverpool

19-Dec-2014 By James Wallin, M&C Report

JD Wetherspoon has secured its fifth site in Liverpool – the Head of Steam at Lime Street station.

JDW makes internal FD appointment

19-Dec-2014 By Mark Wingett

JD Wetherspoon has looked internally to cover its vacant finance director role, promoting Ben Whitley, who has been with the company since 1999, on an interim basis.

JD Wetherspoon cleans up at toilet awards

16-Dec-2014 By Ellie Bothwell

JD Wetherspoon has won ten accolades at the Loo of the Year Awards 2014.

JD Wetherspoon to open 100-room hotel and pub in Dublin

15-Dec-2014 By James Wallin

JD Wetherspoon has bought Camden Hall Hostel in Dublin city centre and intends to open a pubs with a 100-room hotel.

Wetherspoon's ditches Heineken after row over Irish pub drinks supply

09-Dec-2014 By Mike Berry

JD Wetherspoon has announced that it is ditching Heineken across its entire 926-strong pub estate with immediate effect, after the drinks group refused to supply Heineken lager and Murphy’s stout to the company’s new pub in Dun Laoghaire in the Republic...

JD Wetherspoon scoops two awards for lack of 'unwanted music'

03-Dec-2014 By Ellie Bothwell

JD Wetherspoon has won two awards for its quiet pubs.

JD Wetherspoon reveals poor drink sales at motorway site

12-Nov-2014 By James Wallin, M&C Report

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has admitted drink sales have been poor at its first motorway services site because ‘people just want a coffee’.

Newcastle 'could face legal challenge' over JDW hours refusal

03-Nov-2014 By Ellie Bothwell

The decision by Newcastle City Council to refuse JD Wetherspoon’s application to reduce its hours to dodge the city’s late night levy is likely to be overturned if there is a legal challenge, industry lawyers have claimed.

JD Wetherspoon reports rise in like-for-like sales

12-Sep-2014 By John Harrington, M&C Report

JD Wetherspoon has reported a 5.5% rise in like-for-like sales in the year to 27 July, with profit before tax and exceptionals up 3.1% to £79.4m.

91% of JDW pubs gain top food hygiene rating

15-Aug-2014 By Ruth Williams, M&C Report

JD Wetherspoon has scored the maximum five star rating in the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Food Hygiene Rating Scheme for 747 of the 816 Wetherspoon pubs listed on the FSA website.

Boxer Barry McGuigan praises JD Wetherspoon’s £9m for children’s cancer charity

11-Aug-2014 By James Wallin

JD Wetherspoon has hit a fundraising milestone after raising £9m for CLIC Sargent.

Wetherspoon's first pub in Republic of Ireland won't serve Guinness

30-Jun-2014 By James Wallin

JD Wetherspoon is to open its first pub in the Republic of Ireland – but has admitted it will not be serving the nation’s most popular drink, Guinness.

JD Wetherspoon lands at Heathrow Terminal 2

04-Jun-2014 By James Wallin

JD Wetherspoon today opens the doors to its pub at Heathrow’s Terminal 2.

JD Wetherspoon launches Olympic-inspired training for 32,000 staff

24-Apr-2014 By Mark Wingett

JD Wetherspoon is aiming to train all 32,000 of its front-line staff using the same programme as volunteers at the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

Wetherspoon boss criticises rival pubcos’ 'financial misjudgement'

22-Apr-2014

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has voiced most direct criticism yet of his rival pub companies for failing to support the industry’s VAT campaign.

JD Wetherspoon like-for-like sales rise 5.2%

14-Mar-2014 By John Harrington

JD Wetherspoon has reported a 5.2% rise in like-for-like sales in the 26 weeks to 26 January, with profits before tax and exceptionals up 8.5% to £37.8m.

JD Wetherspoon wins 2014 Top Employers Award

13-Mar-2014 By Helen Gilbert

JD Wetherspoon has become the only pub company to scoop a 2014 Top Employers Award.