WETHERSPOONS has axed plans to open half a dozen new pubs in another blow for drinkers.
The pub chain had purchased several sites with a view to opening new branches of Wetherspoons.
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But The Sun can reveal that these plans have now been ditched and the sites have been put up for sale.
These include a former Baird’s department store in Hamilton, Scotland, and the site of a shuttered Italian restaurant in Leeds.
A spokesman for the pub chain said: “Wetherspoon has put a number of sites it owns up for sale.
“It will no longer be developing the sites into pubs. This is a commercial decision.”
But Spoons reassured fans that it still has an “ongoing programme of refurbishing existing pubs and opening new pubs.”
It doesn’t mean that a new venue won’t open up near you in the future, just that these particular sites won’t be turned into a Spoons any more.
Below is a full list of eight sites that have been put back up for sale and will no longer become Wetherspoons pubs:
- Gloucester Road, Bishopston, Bristol, BS7 8TG
- St Mary’s Street, Ely, CB7 4ES
- Hamilton Road, Felixstowe, IP11 7DX
- Former Baird’s department store, Duke Street, Hamilton, ML3 7DT
- Soul Store, Kilburn High Road, London, NW6 5UA
- Former Tusk nightclub and Waverley Tea Rooms, Moss-Side Road, Glasgow, G41 3TN
- Sant’Angelo, High Street, Wetherby, LS22 6LT
- Grape and Grain, Crystal Palace, London, SE19 2AA
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The Grape and Grain was formerly a Wetherspoons pub before closing six years ago.
The chain hung onto the freehold but it has now decided to put the venue up for sale.
It is the only site on the list that previously operated as a Wetherspoons.
It comes as two Wetherspoons pubs prepare to close for the final time this weekend.
The Bankers Draft in Eltham, London and The Sir John Arderne in Newark are set to close on Sunday (August 20).
The chain which has 827 pubs across the UK – warned last September that 32 pubs were being put up for sale.
The total number of Wetherspoons that have closed so far currently stands at 29.
The pubs which have already closed were smaller, older, or have a second Wetherspoons fairly close by, the company said in a trading update published in July.
But it’s not all bad news as three new Wetherspoon pubs have opened over the past year.
You can see the full list of Wetherspoons pubs that are up for sale, or have already closed, in our handy explainer.
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