Pub operator JD Wetherspoon (JDW)has announced plans to open up to 15 more new sites as it releases its latest trading update.
The latest update reveals that for the 13 weeks to 27 October 2019, like-for-like sales increased by 5.3% and total sales by 5.6%, and reports that the company has opened one new pub since the start of the financial year and has disposed of four. We intend to open between 10 and 15 pubs in the current financial year. In the current financial year to date, the JDWhas spent £43.3m on buying the freeholds of pubs of which it was previously the tenant and has bought back £6.4m of the Company’s shares.
Tim Martin said:“The Company is frequently asked for comments by shareholders, customers and the press for comments on Brexit. I strongly believe that the UK economy will be better off on the basis of ‘no-deal’ rather than the deal proposed by the government. I’ve dealt with this point in some detail in the latest edition of Wetherspoon News (appendix 3).
“We continue to anticipate a trading outcome for this financial year in line with our previous expectations.”
