WETHERSPOON (J.D.) PLC
Released 9 August 2024
JD WETHERSPOON
PLC
NEWS RELEASE -
CORRECTION
"In an article today ("Major bar
chain announce they are shutting down 25 of their venues", 9
August) the Daily Mail referred to a "restructuring plan" by
Revolution Bars, so as to "stave off insolvency." The article says
that Revolution was "forced to close 8 bars".
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13726805/Major-bar-chain-announce-shutting-venues.html
The article goes on to say that "Revolution
joins a number of other boozer chains that have been recently
forced to close its (sic) branches" and cites Wetherspoon as
"closing down dozens of branches" in 2023.
This conflation of the positions of Wetherspoon
and a company undergoing a financial restructuring is
misleading.
In 2023, Wetherspoon had record-ever sales of
over £1.9 billion, approximately double the sales, for example, of
the Daily Mail's owner, DMGT. Additionally, Wetherspoon made
pre-tax profits of £42.6 million, approximately 11 times the Daily
Mail's."
Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said:
"Rather perplexingly, the Daily Mail made
similar, inaccurate comments about Wetherspoon almost exactly a
year ago, as our press release of 4 August 2023, in appendix 1
below, illustrates. It's very important, where financial matters
are concerned, for newspapers to avoid creating patently
misleading information."
APPENDIX 1
4 August 2023
Correction regarding Daily Mail article
of 1 August 2023
A Daily Mail article of 1 August 2023 was
headlined: "Wetherspoons closes more pubs with dozens of boozers
across Britain earmarked for closure…".
The article then said that Wetherspoon "has
closed 29 pubs so far this year…"
The article contained a number of mistakes,
including the startling assertion that, "In September 2023 the
company announced that it was putting 32 of its pubs up for
sale."
In fact, the announcement was made in 2022,
nearly a year before the article appeared.
In general, the headline and article created a
misleading impression.
Of the 28 pubs in question (not 29), 15 have
been sold to other pub or restaurant companies and are already
open, or are due to reopen soon, following temporary
closure.
Describing pubs that are open as closed is
inaccurate and alarmist.
The remaining 13 pubs were leaseholds and the
lease had either expired, or the location had been identified by
the landlord for redevelopment, resulting in a surrender of the
lease to the landlord.
For example, Doncaster Airport closed and
therefore Wetherspoon's pub in the airport closed as
well.
Wetherspoon surrendered its lease in Orpington
to the landlord, as part of the landlord's plans to redevelop the
shopping centre.
In Basildon, Wetherspoon surrendered its lease
to the landlord, who is planning a major redevelopment in the town
centre.
Wetherspoon has acquired another larger,
freehold, site in Basildon, which is due to open in approximately
12 months.
The statement by the Daily Mail that "dozens of
boozers across the UK (are) earmarked for closure" also creates a
misleading and exaggerated impression.
The article said that a recent Wetherspoon
trading update "suggests the closures were due to difficult trading
circumstances for the hospitality industry in recent
years".
However, the trading statement made no such
comment. It said that the majority of the Wetherspoon pubs in
question "had another [Wetherspoon] pub nearby".
Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said:
"Pub disposals are a sensitive issue. Hyperbole
and exaggeration from the Daily Mail have created unnecessary
alarm.
"Wetherspoon's annualised sales are now
approximately £2 billion, the highest ever level, and are over
£100m per annum more than in the year before the
pandemic.
"Profits, as we said in our recent trading
statement, are increasing and employment is also at a record level.
That is certainly not the impression the Daily Mail article
gave."
ENDS
Enquiries:
Nigel Connor
Legal Director
07818 232529
Eddie
Gershon
Company
Spokesman
07956 392234
Please send any questions by
email to investorqueries@jdwetherspoon.co.uk
Notes to editors
1. J D
Wetherspoon owns and operates pubs throughout the UK. The Company
aims to provide customers with good-quality food and drink, served
by well-trained and friendly staff, at reasonable prices. The pubs
are individually designed, and the Company aims to maintain them in
excellent condition.
2. Visit our
website: www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk