Tim Martin

First holiday park pub opening for JDW

04-Mar-2024 By Gary Lloyd

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) will open its first pub at a holiday park on Friday (8 March).

Review of the Week

'We need to go to war on VAT'

05-Jan-2024 By Ed Bedington

The MA's Ed Bedington met up with Oakman Group's Peter Borg-Neal to get his take on the week's news, from a knighthood for Sir Tim through to closures and Christmas trade.

‘Sunak best choice for PM’ says JDW’s Tim Martin

24-Oct-2022 By Nikkie Thatcher

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) chairman Tim Martin has argued former Chancellor Rishi Sunak would be the best choice for the next Prime Minister (PM).

Diversity is key for the Great British pub

07-Oct-2022 By Ed Bedington

The recent Great British Pub Awards was a triumphant celebration of the diversity and richness of the UK’s pub offer, with businesses of all stripes recognised for excellence across the board.

Gov urged to slash VAT rates as inflation hits 40-year high

18-May-2022 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Big players in the hospitality sector urged Government to slash VAT rates and provide financial help as inflation hits a 40 year high of 9%.

JDW returns to ‘more normal trading period’

18-Mar-2022 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) has shown a return to more normal trading periods in their preliminary results for the 26 weeks, which ended on the 23 January 2022.

‘Country appears to be heading towards lockdown by stealth’ says Tim Martin

14-Dec-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has warned the nation looks to be nearing a “lockdown by stealth”, impacting consumer confidence and trade.

JDW to slash prices for Tax Equality Day

15-Sep-2021 By Michelle Perrett

Pub operator JD Wetherspoon (JDW) is to cut the price of all food and drink in its pubs by 7.5% on Thursday, 23 September – to highlight the benefit of a permanent VAT reduction in the hospitality industry.

Tim Martin claims most businesses would support visa system for EU workers

02-Jun-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) boss Tim Martin has suggested most hospitality firms would be likely to be in favour of a preferential visa scheme for European Union workers to tackle the recruitment issues in the sector.

JDW to pump £895m in 168 new pubs and refurbishing existing sites

30-Mar-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Pub behemoth JD Wetherspoon is set to invest £895m in developing new sites alongside upgrading existing venues in its portfolio as part of a 10-year plan.

378 roles made redundant at JDW

20-Jan-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

More than 300 staff have been made redundant across JD Wetherspoon (JDW)’s airport sites and head office, as the operator revealed it expects pubs to remain closed until at least the end of March.

JDW takes down 'slap in the face' anti-lockdown posters

13-Jan-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Pub giant JD Wetherspoon (JDW) has removed posters from some of its pubs' windows following backlash against its 'lockdown-sceptic' comments.

Tim Martin: Government ‘often relies on false information rather than truth’

17-Dec-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) boss Tim Martin will accuse the Government of “relying on false information” in its handling the coronavirus pandemic.

JDW ‘not considering further redundancies’

16-Oct-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) boss Tim Martin has told The Morning Advertiser the business is currently not considering making more redundancies, but wouldn't rule out more cuts if trade continues to drop.

1% of JDW staff tested positive for coronavirus

16-Oct-2020 By Nicholas Robinson

Just 1% of JD Wetherspoon’s 43,000 employees have tested positive for coronavirus since pubs reopened, boss Tim Martin said in the company’s delayed financial results today.

Curfew measures will not curb virus, say pubco bosses

22-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Chief executives have called the Government’s pub curfew decision “pointless” and “unnecessary” in the fight to curb a second coronavirus wave.

JDW sales slump on Saturday before ‘rule of six’ enforced

14-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) saw year-on-year sales drop by more than a fifth (22.5%) on Saturday 12 September amid national reports of pubs and bars being flooded with customers ahead of the Government’s ‘rule of six’ coming into force today (Monday 14 September).

JDW sees 5.7m track and trace check ins

07-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Pub behemoth JD Wetherspoon (JDW) has received 5,742,125 check ins of track and trace across its UK and Republic of Ireland estate in one month.

JDW U-turns on price rise

13-Jul-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Pub giant JD Wetherspoon (JDW) has announced it will be reducing food and drink prices across its pub estate a week after it revealed that they were set to increase.

JDW to continue sales of EU brands

20-Jan-2020 By Alice Leader

JD Wetherspoon’s EU alcohol brand discounts in the run-up to Brexit do not signal an intention to ditch continental names, despite pubco boss Tim Martin’s keenness to stock more homegrown products.

JDW to plough more than £200m into estate expansion

10-Dec-2019 By Alice Leader

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) has announced it will launch a £200m spending spree as the giant pubco is set to develop its estate over the next four years.

JDW says Brexit beer mats were illegal claims are ‘truly pathetic’

29-Oct-2019 By Alice Leader

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) chairman Tim Martin has hit back at claims that his pro-leave Brexit beer mats were in breach of company law for failing to seek shareholder approval before the EU referendum.

Wetherspoon Brexit beer mats support ‘no deal’

08-Aug-2018 By Emily Hawkins

JD Wetherspoon have launched a Brexit beer mat outlining the pubco's view that the UK should not strike a deal with the EU and opt out of EU tariffs.

Wetherspoon ‘not as clever’ as it thought on rents

08-Jun-2018 By The MA

Wetherspoon has pursued a strategy of agreeing “virtually no open-market rent reviews” in past 16 to 17 years to avoid rent hikes brought about by the rise of casual dining, according to the pub company's founder Tim Martin.

Pete Brown opinion: I'm voting with my feet over Wetherspoon's beer mats

03-Jan-2018 By Pete Brown

With Brexit entering a new phase of negotiation, Pete Brown bares his soul and reveals why he won’t be visiting his local Wetherspoons any time soon

Supermarkets selling beer and cider for 75p a pint

14-Nov-2017 By Michelle Perrett

An investigation by The Morning Advertiser has revealed supermarkets are selling lager and cider for as little as 75p a pint.

Tim Martin: pubs 'destined for further decline' without tax relief

23-Feb-2017 By Daniel Woolfson

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has hit out at the Government’s upcoming business rates rises and tax inequality, which will see his pubco hit with a bill of millions.

Staff

JDW boss to offer zero-hours staff guaranteed contracts

12-Sep-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has become the latest big name to offer staff on zero-hours contracts the opportunity to work guaranteed hours.

No winners in the blame game

21-Jan-2015 By Rob Willock

It’s fair to say I was a little surprised this morning to be blamed personally for Wetherspoons’ poor half-year margin and New Year sales performance.

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.

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’.

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.

Does the pub industry have a vision for future success?

20-Nov-2013 By Rob Willock

Two retail veterans issued separate but similar challenges to the pub sector at our recent Pub Retail Summit, writes Rob Willock.

Tim Martin: 'Pubs are still over-rented'

01-Aug-2013 By John Harrington

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) chairman Tim Martin has told the Publican's Morning Advertiser's sister title M&C Report that a lot of pubs are still “greatly over-rented” as a legacy of the last financial boom.

Tim Martin accuses pubcos of being “silent” in fight against tax differential between supermarkets and pubs

08-Nov-2012 By Gurjit Degun

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) chairman Tim Martin has accused pub companies of being “silent” in the fight against the tax differential between supermarkets and pubs.

Government still has time to scrap the duty escalator, claims Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin

12-Jun-2012 By Michelle Perrett

The Government still has time to change the Finance Bill and scrap the duty escalator, claims Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin.

JDW reports slowdown in like-for-like sales

13-Jul-2011 By Mark Wingett, M&C Report

JD Wetherspoon (JDW), the managed pub operator, has reported a slowdown in like-for-like sales over the 11 weeks to 10 July.

Exclusive: JDW scales back breakfast hours

08-Nov-2010 By The PMA Team

Managed operator JD Wetherspoon has moved to open later for breakfast at around 70% of its sites. The company began opening for breakfast at 7am...

Tim Martin: 'Unite against tax burden'

17-Sep-2010 By Martyn Leek and The PMA Team

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has called on the sector to unite against the tax and regulatory burden onslaught it faces.

Tim Martin: 'Different government, same attitude towards pubs'

10-Sep-2010 By Hamish Champ

Announcing another record breaking trading performance by his company, JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin condemned what he called the "draconian"...

Video: Tim Martin on his first pub

28-Apr-2010 By Ewan Turney

JD Wetherspoon founder tells MATV about being locked out, having the windows put in and where the name Wetherspoon came from.

Martin: the billion-pound bar man

22-Apr-2010 By The PMA Team

The PMA Team takes a looks at JD Wetherspoon's past and future as founder Tim Martin starts to ramp up openings again. As milestones go, it's...

Wetherspoons reinstates dividends to shareholders

11-Mar-2010 By Hamish Champ

Managed pub group JD Wetherspoon has reinstated its dividend after more than a year of holding back payments to investors. Announcing its half year...

Martin: Government attitude to pubs is 'absurd'

11-Mar-2010 By Ewan Turney

The Government's attitude to pubs has become "more absurd" — that's the stinging attack launched by JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin this morning....

Wetherspoons to create 10,000 jobs through new pub openings

01-Dec-2009 By Hamish Champ

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin says the pub group has already started work on developing many of the 250 new pub sites it hopes to open over the...

Martin slams 'artificial' pub rents

08-Oct-2009 By John Harrington

JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has called for action to make the pub property market more transparent and counter the "huge" potential for...

26-year-old irate over Wetherspoon ID checks

14-Sep-2009 By John Harrington

A 26 year-old woman has written to her MP complaining of being thrown out of a Wetherspoons pub because one person in her group had no ID. MP Lynne...

'Wetherspoons' Martin upbeat on outlook'

27-May-2009 By James Wilmore

British pubs group JD Wetherspoon's founder and Chairman Tim Martin believes drinkers could return to pubs as they feel the benefits of mortgage...

City Diary: 19 March

20-Mar-2009 By The PMA Team

All the latest gossip and rumour from the City.

Wetherspoon's Tim Martin slams government over tax, binge drinking and red tape

13-Mar-2009 By Hamish Champ

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has slammed the government over its tax and regulation policies which he believes will have "predictable and...