Wetherspoon put three pubs up for sale in North West
Pub chain JD Wetherspoon has announced it is selling 16 pubs following a fall in profits for the firm.
Three pubs in the North West are being put up for sale – one in Merseyside and another in Warrington.
The company announced the sales following an 18.9% fall in profits and increased labour costs of about £33m.
Founder and chairman Tim Martin said: “As previously indicated, costs in the second half of the year will be higher than those of the same period last year.
“The company anticipates an unchanged trading outcome for the current financial year.”
In the six weeks to Sunday, March 10 like-for-like sales increased by 9.6% and total revenue jumped 10.9% helped by good weather and favourable comparables.
The chain has opened two new venues in the last six months take its portfolio to 879 across the UK but is pressing ahead with the sale.
The Dee Hotel in West Kirby, the Brun Lea in Burnley and the Friar Penketh in Warrington are on the list of pubs being sold.
A spokesman said: “Simply, Wetherspoon has almost 900 pubs and on occasion, like other companies, it looks at its estate and has to make decisions.
“This is a commercial decision taken by the company. We understand that customers and staff will be disappointed with the decision.
“Both pubs will continue to trade as normal and there will not be any staff redundancies.”
The full list of closures:
• Queens Hotel – Newport
• Brun Lea – Burnley
• Friar Penketh – Warrington
• Bourtree, Hawick
• The Cross Keys, Peebles
• Chapel an Gansblydhen, Cornwall
• St George’s Hall, Bristol
• Isaac Merritt, Devon
• Dee Hotel, Merseyside
• Last Plantagenet, Leicester
• Rhinoceros, Rotherham
• Alexander Bain, Wick
• Pennsylvanian, Rickmansworth
• Time Piece, Dewsbury
• Butler’s Bell, Stafford
• Vulcan, Coatbridge
