‘Ever-widening gap’: Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin urges Burnham to cut more pub taxes Hospitality JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has called on the Prime Minister to go further to reduce the soaring tax burden faced by pubs. The chairman of the UK’s best-known pub chain said Burnham’s decision to slash business rates for pubs is an “implicit recognition that the hospitality sector is over taxed”. The Prime Minister announced [...]
Wetherspoon shares dive as pub chain warns on profit again Hospitality JD Wetherspoon shares slumped after it issued its fourth profit warning this year, as the pub chain grapples with surging food and energy costs and a rising business rates bill. Tim Martin, founder and chairman of the UK’s best-known pub chain, said: “Profits for the year are likely to be below market expectations, with marginally [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jump; oil dips below $100 as Trump says Iran deal close Markets Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Brent crude dipped below $100 at Wednesday lunchtime after Donald Trump has hailed “great progress” towards a “final agreement” with Iran, prompting a rally in the FTSE, Asian markets and Wall Street. In a sudden reversal late last night, President Trump said he will pause [...]
Wetherspoon boss backs Reform pub package – and defends dog policy February 9, 2026 Sir Tim Martin, chairman of JD Wetherspoon, has called on hospitality firms to back Reform’s proposed pub support package, arguing it would “utterly transform” the landscape for pubs. In a stock exchange release, Martin said Reform’s proposals would offer pubs “tax parity” with supermarkets. “By eliminating the tax differential between supermarkets and the hospitality industry, [...]
Greene King vs Spoons: Who is winning the great British pub battle? May 20, 2025 There are few well-populated areas of the UK where you can’t find either a Greene King or JD Wetherspoon pub. The two titans of the British pubs industry together operate thousands of locations each across the country and are staples of most urban areas. Both are major contributors to the UK economy – providing employment [...]
Revealed: Who paid the most tax in 2024? January 24, 2025 One of the UK’s richest hedge fund managers paid the most tax in the UK this year, contributing over £339m in just 12 months, according to the Sunday Times Tax list. Sir Chris Hohn, who founded British hedge fund the Children’s Investment Fund Management in 2003, topped the list of Britain’s top taxpayers, trumping gambling [...]
Wetherspoons pubs to make huge price cuts in VAT protest September 5, 2024 Pub giant JD Wetherspoon will make a huge cut to its prices next week in a bid to highlight what it describes as the benefit of a permanent VAT reduction in the hospitality industry. The London-listed giant, which has sites across the country, will be reducing the price of its food and drink by 7.5 [...]
The Waterloo Wetherspoons is utterly miserable: Of course it is September 3, 2024 In accordance with tradition, I am in the grips of a savage and well deserved hangover as I enter The Lion & The Unicorn, the massive new Wetherspoons that opened yesterday at Waterloo Station. It takes its name from the Lion and Unicorn Pavilion that was constructed for the 1951 Festival of Britain, a celebration [...]
JD Wetherspoon boss clashes with Ryanair chief over calls for airport pint limits August 28, 2024 Michael O'Leary claimed on Tuesday there had been a rise in in-flight violence over the summer due to increasing drug and alcohol use.
JD Wetherspoon: Tim Martin’s chain reveals when its new London Waterloo pub will open August 27, 2024 Sir Tim Martin’s JD Wetherspoon will open a new pub in Waterloo Station next week, creating 70 jobs and serving Brits waiting for delayed trains. The budget boozer said it has spent £2.8m on developing the new watering hole, called the Lion & the Unicorn, inspired by a building from the 1951 Festival of Britain. [...]