WETHERSPOONS has closed 21 pubs and more locations could follow, the popular chain has revealed in an update today.
Fans could lose 51 drinking spots in total, as a further 30 venues are either for sale or under offer.
Wetherspoons initially announced plans to shut 32 pubs back in September last year, then revealed seven more closures in November.
Now the total number of venues that have closed – or are set to – has jumped by 12.
The pubs which have already closed were smaller and older, or have a second Wetherspoon fairly close by, the company said in a trading update today.
In better news, there have been three new Wetherspoon pubs opened over the past year.
And the venues on the market could still remain open if a sale doesn’t complete.
Founder and chairman Tim Martin used the trading update to warn of continued pressure on the hospitality sector from higher costs.
He said: “Lockdowns and associated restrictions have had more profound and longer-lasting consequences than most economists, politicians and commentators predicted.
“Sales in the last quarter have continued their positive momentum, although inflation, especially in labour, energy and food costs, remains a more intractable issue.”
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The chain said a bumper May Day holiday weekend led the pub group to forecast record annual sales and profit for the year.
Like-for-like sales for the 13-week period ended April 30 rose 9.1% from pre-pandemic levels, and sales during the Easter week were the highest for the group, Wetherspoon said.
In total, Wetherspoon now has 834 pubs in the UK and Ireland and employs more than 42,000 people.
Which Wetherspoons pubs could close?
Here are the 30 pubs that are currently up for sale or under offer:
- The Alfred Herring, Palmers Green
- Silkstone Inn, Barnsley
- The John Masefield, New Ferry
- The Cross Keys, Peebles
- The Saltoun Inn, Fraserburgh
- General Sir Redvers Buller, Crediton
- The Bank House, Cheltenham
- The Butlers Bell, Stafford
- The Percy Shaw, Halifax
- Foxley Hatch, Purley
- Asparagus, Battersea
- Millers Well, East Ham
- Hudson Bay, Forest Gate
- Angel, Islington
- The Billiard Hall, West Bromwich
- Capitol, Forest Hill
- The Bankers Draft, Eltham
- Moon on the Hill, Harrow
- The Bank House, Cheltenham
- Wrong ‘Un, Bexleyheath
- Jolly Sailor, Hanham
- The Moon and Bell, Loughborough
- The Widow Frost, Mansfield
- Resolution, Middlesbrough
- The Rising Sun, Redditch
- Sennockian, Sevenoaks
- Admiral Sir Lucius Curtis, Southampton
- Lord Arthur Lee, Fareham
- Plough & Harrow, Hammersmith
- Coronet, London
Which Wetherspoons pubs have already closed?
Here are the 21 pubs that have been sold:
- Worlds Inn, Romford
- The Colombia Press, Watford
- The Malthouse, Willenhall
- Thomas Leaper, Derby
- Cliftonville, Hove
- Tollgate, Turnpike Lane
- Harvest Moon, Orpington
- Alexander Bain, Wick
- Chapel an Gansblydhen, Bodmin
- Moon on the Square, Basildon
- Coal Orchard, Taunton
- Running Horse, Airside Doncaster Airport
- Wild Rose, Bootle
- Edmund Halley, Lee Green
- The Willow Grove, Southport
- Postal Order, Worcester
- North and South Wales Bank, Wrexham
- The Sir John Stirling Maxwell, Glasgow
- The Knight’s Templar, London
- Christopher Creeke, Bournemouth
- The Water House, Durham
Meanwhile Wetherspoons has made a change to the menu that has left fans divided.
Plus the the “most beautiful Wetherspoons in the world” will soon reopen – see inside.