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The Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Full list of Wetherspoons at risk of closure as six pubs are put up for sale and punters say it's the ‘end of an era'
WETHERSPOONS has revealed six of its popular pubs are at risk of closure. The much-loved pub chain is putting six of its boozers up for sale as part of what it called a "commercial decision". 1 Spoons has been offloading some of its smaller or older pubs over the last couple of years, but has continued to open other sites. It has roughly 800 pubs across the UK currently. The sites up for sale now are: The Water Gate - Barnstaple The Babington Arms - Derby Baxter's Court, Hackney Kentish Drovers, Peckham The Grey Friar, Preston The William Jameson, Sunderland The chain told the Morning Advertiser the pubs are in "busy locations across the UK". Disappointed pubgoers shared the news on social media, with one person saying: "Another blow for the London boroughs sadly. "Derby patrons will be devastated though its slightly off the beaten track very popular with real ale enthusiasts." Another said: "Baxter's Court is a community asset in an area that's rapidly gentrifying. Save Baxter's Court!" A third wrote: "Shocking!! The watergate is a b***** good pub for the company!" The Sun understands there will be no redundancies when The Grey Friar in Preston is sold, with staff offered jobs at other pubs in the chain. Why are pubs closing? But one devastated local said: "Happy memories starting our Friday nights in Greyfriars… it will be missed." Another said it was the "end of an era". Wetherspoon spokesperson Eddie Gershon said: "Wetherspoon does, on occasion, put some of its pubs up for sale. "This is a commercial decision by the company. "The pubs will continue to operate as Wetherspoon outlets until they are sold." The last Spoons pub to close down was The Spon Gate in Coventry. The city centre pub was a favourite among locals, who said it was the "best" location in the area. Wetherspoon has also delayed plans to open two sites in London and one in Essex. The Sun Wharf had been due to open in London Bridge on August 26 but it's now been delayed to September 2. The opening of a new branch in Fulham Broadway was delayed by three weeks. The site was due to open on June 17 but eventually opened on July 8. Meanwhile The King of Essex in Basildon was set to open on September 23 but has now been pushed back to September 30. It's not uncommon for businesses to delay the openings of sites by a few weeks. At the same time, Spoons has been opening more sites across the country. Here's the full list... Marlow, Buckinghamshire - already open London Waterloo Station - already open The Conister Arms, Douglas, Isle of Man - already open Walham Green, Fulham Broadway - already open Dictum of Kenilworth, Warwickshire - opening July 29 The Sun Wharf, Tooley Street, London Bridge - opening September 2 The Sir Alexander Fleming, Paddington - opening September 23 The King of Essex in Basildon - opening September 30 The Chiltern, Beaconsfield - opening December 2. How can I save money at Wetherspoons? FREE refills - Buy a £1.50 tea, coffee or hot chocolate and you can get free refills. The deal is available all day, every day. Check a map - Prices can vary from one location the next, even those close to each other. So if you're planning a pint at a Spoons, it's worth popping in nearby pubs to see if you're settling in at the cheapest. Choose your day - Each night the pub chain runs certain food theme nights. For instance, every Thursday night is curry club, where diners can get a main meal and a drink for a set price cheaper than usual. Pick-up vouchers - Students can often pick up voucher books in their local near universities, which offer discounts on food and drink, so keep your eyes peeled. Get appy - The Wetherspoons app allows you to order and pay for your drink and food from your table - but you don't need to be in the pub to use it. Taking full advantage of this, cheeky customers have used social media to ask their friends and family to order them drinks. The app is free to download on the App Store or Google Play. Check the date - Every year, Spoons holds its Tax Equality Day to highlight the benefits of a permanently reduced tax bill for the pub industry. It usually takes place in September, and last year it fell on Thursday, September 14. As well as its 12-day Real Ale Festival every Autumn, Wetherspoons also holds a Spring Festival.
Daily Mail
11-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Major pub chain forced to hike the cost of a pint by 15p after Labour's tax grab landed it with extra £8million staff costs
A major pub chain has been forced to increase the price of a pint by 15p after Rachel Reeves ' tax raid left it with an added £8million in staff costs. Fuller's says the rise in national insurance contributions (NICs) from last October's budget as well as the higher minimum wage from April has left the firm badly hit. The Chiswick-based company - which has 5,500 staff members - warned back in November last year the financial measures would cause the price of its pints to rise. It comes as pub and hospitality companies have been among the worst affected amid soaring staff bills. Fuller, Smith & Turner chief executive Simon Emeny said the chain had tried to be 'sensitive' with price increases, to 'make sure that going to the pub remains an affordable treat'. He added the group would keep its pricing 'under review' over the rest of the year. Fuller's is the latest to raise the cost of a pint as pub chains attempt to offset soaring staff bills. The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) recently said the average price of a pint of beer would surge past £5 for the first time because of cost hikes hitting the sector. Pub and hospitality companies have been among the worst affected amid soaring staff bills A spokesman for the BBPA added the average cost of a pint in the UK is expected to rise by about 21p as a result. But Fuller's boss Mr Emeny said the firm could not offset the cost impact with price increases alone. The group, which has about 5,500 staff, is doubling down on investment in its bars and staff training, to drive sales higher, which it hopes will counter the extra costs. 'Six months down the line and I don't think price increases are the only answer. It has to come through higher sales,' he said. Reeves announced last year the employers' rate of NI would increase by 1.2 percentage points, to 15 per cent from April. In addition, the level at which employers become liable to pay NI on salaries would reduce from £9,100 to £5,000 per year. And the minimum wage for over 21s, known officially as the National Living Wage, has now risen from £11.44 to £12.21. Mr Fuller said his firm's consumer spending outlook would be sensitive to the interest rate outlook, and whether the Government moved to increase personal taxes. The comments came as Fuller's posted a 32 per cent jump in underlying pre-tax profits to £27 million for the year to March 29. Like-for-like sales rose 5.2 per cent, and the group said growth had continued into the first 10 weeks of the new financial year, albeit at a more muted rate of 4.2 per cent. It also announced its chairman of 18 years, Michael Turner, a member of one of the three founding families, would retire at the group's annual general meeting in July, after a 47-year career with the group. He will be replaced by Mr Emeny, who will become executive chairman, the first person to take the role who is not a member of the founding families. Fred Turner will be promoted from retail director to chief operating officer. A number of other founding family members remain on the board, including non-executive directors Sir James Fuller and Richard Fuller. On his final set of full-year figures for the group, the outgoing chairman said it had been an 'excellent' past year. Mr Turner added: 'This strong performance has been achieved despite the business operating in a challenging and, at times volatile, economic environment. 'The geopolitical situation has caused uncertainty in global markets and the decisions made by the Chancellor in her October budget hit the sector hard and reduced confidence in hospitality stocks.' Mr Turner, An outspoken critic of the move to raise national insurance contributions (NICs) from April, said: 'The changes to national insurance contributions took everyone by surprise and I fear it could be terminal for a number of smaller operators in our market.'
Reuters
11-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
UK's Fuller Smith to tread carefully on price hikes despite rising costs, CEO says
June 11 (Reuters) - British pub chain Fuller, Smith & Turner (FSTA.L), opens new tab will take a cautious approach to increasing prices, CEO Simon Emeny said on Wednesday, as the group navigates rising costs from higher taxes and minimum wage hikes. Companies across the country had flagged an increase in labour costs related to a rise in employers' social security contributions and minimum wages following Finance Minister Rachel Reeves' maiden budget last year. Reeves, who had also introduced the biggest tax increases in three decades, is set to present a multi-year spending plan later on Wednesday. Fuller, which operates premium pubs across the UK, expects to incur 8 million pounds ($10.79 million) in additional costs. "Like everybody in the sector, we have had to raise prices during April to help us navigate this extra cost burden placed on us by the chancellor, but we've kept those as low as possible," Emeny said, adding that the group will be cautious about further price hikes into the year. Although Fuller did not provide any indication about its expectations for the current fiscal year, which began on March 30, like-for-like sales in the first 10 weeks rose 4.2%, slightly lower than the 4.4% growth seen last year. For the year ended March 29, the group reported an adjusted pre-tax profit of 27 million pounds, above analysts' estimate of 24.7 million pounds, according to a company poll. Shares of the company rose as much as 2.2% before reversing course to fall 2.2% as of 1003 GMT. Peel Hunt analysts said in a note they expect maintaining managed like-for-like sales growth to offset ongoing cost inflation to be the main catalyst for shares in the ongoing fiscal year.
The Sun
11-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Wetherspoons is launching THREE new meal deals in days at hundreds of pubs with prices starting from £3
WETHERSPOONS is launching three new meal deals in days at hundreds of pubs and prices start from £3. The giant pub chain is shaking up its Club deals from June 23, offering customers a range of discounted food and drink. 1 It will launch a new small plates deal on Mondays with punters able to get three items for £10 at 610 pubs - around £3 per plate. The same deal will cost £12 at 159 other pubs. Customers can choose from 20 small-plated dishes, including 10 spicy chicken wings, halloumi-style fries and an 8" Margherita pizza. On Tuesdays, a new beer and burger deal is launching across 604 pubs. Customers can get a burger with soft drink for £8.46 or burger with alcoholic drink for £9.99. Burgers included in the deal are The Big Smoke, Buffalo and Cheese Meltdown, with all served with chips and six onion rings. A new Wednesday Pizza Club is also being unveiled by Spoons from June 23, with a range of 11" pizzas available. Punters can get a pizza with soft or alcoholic drink for £6.96 and £8.49, respectively. Wetherspoons said the new Pizza Club will be available across 520 pubs. Meanwhile, the pub chain is also shaking up its Ale Wednesday Club deal meaning customers can now get pints from £1.49 from Monday to Wednesday across 651 pubs. The UK's 5 most beautiful Wetherspoons pubs The existing Thursday Curry Club and Afternoon Deal promo, which runs Monday to Friday from 2pm to 5pm, will also still be available to customers. We have asked Wetherspoons if its existing Tuesday Steak Club and Fish Friday deals are also staying and will update this story when we have heard back. Tim Martin, Wetherspoon's founder and chairman, said: 'We believe that customers will welcome the pubs' new and existing value-for-money club deals." Bear in mind, the prices listed above might not be what you pay in your local Spoons as they can vary from branch to branch. You can find your nearest branch via the free-to-download app or via OTHER SPOONS NEWS Spoons is bringing back The Brunch Burger for the Father's Day weekend, from Friday to Sunday. It returned two years ago after a ten-year hiatus and was a fan favourite at the time with punters calling it "legendary". Last month, Spoons also closed a beloved pub in Coventry - The Spon Gate. Elsewhere, Spoons also launched a £2.99 breakfast deal in February, with customers able to get a breakfast muffin or small breakfast with soft or hot drink. There are also veggie options available, which are served between 8am and midday. The Sun also exclusively revealed in January Spoons had upped the price of a host of popular drinks and menu items across its pubs. The chain bumped up prices on drinks by 15p while meal deals were increased by 30p. The price rises saw the cost of a Guinness at the London and South Western branch in south west London go from £4.66 to £4.81. Meanwhile, the price of a Strongbow increased from £3.24 to £3.39. .
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Pub fined after boy's allergic reaction to sausage
A pub chain has been fined almost £27,000 after a young boy had an allergic reaction to a sausage. St Albans Magistrates Court heard that the mother of the boy, from Welwyn Garden City, had been assured twice that the sausage did not contain wheat. The Rusty Gun, in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, later confirmed that there was wheat in the food and offered the boy's parents a free meal as an apology. The owners, Innventure, said those who had "let this young man down" had been dismissed or had resigned. The boy, called Ralph, was nine years old at the time and went for a birthday meal at the Rusty Gun in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, with his parents, Lauren and James, in August 2023. The court was told that Lauren asked the pub staff on two occasions whether the sausage chosen by her son contained wheat. Waiting staff checked with the chefs in the kitchen and told Lauren the recipe did not contain wheat. Ralph began to feel unwell after eating just a quarter of the sausage. Back at home, parts of Ralph's body began to swell; he had red hives all over him and had difficulty breathing. He was given steroids and adrenaline at the local hospital before being transferred to Lister Hospital in Stevenage. Lauren said: "It's every parent's worst nightmare watching their child struggle to breathe, and I was thinking the worst. "I will always have a lasting memory of Ralph asking me if he was going to die that night." She said she called the Rusty Gun and asked whether they were sure the sausage contained no wheat. "I was then told 'we made a mistake' and - can you believe it? - I was offered a free meal!" Hertfordshire Trading Standards investigated the incident and charged the pub's owners, Innventure, with two offences under food safety legislation. Innventure pleaded guilty at St Albans Magistrates Court on 6 May and was ordered to pay a total of £26,802.76 in fines and costs. Ralph was awarded £1,000 in compensation. A spokesperson for Innventure said: "Those that let the company and this young man down in August 2023 have been dismissed or have resigned. "We have undertaken a comprehensive review of the allergens processes and procedures operated by the business. New and improved systems are in place to ensure that this never happens again. "We offer and have offered our sincerest apologies to the young man in question." Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE, from the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, said: "We would urge anyone working with food to take food allergies seriously so that all people can eat out safely." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Call for change at first food allergy conference BBC presenter taken off flight over child's allergy Peanut allergy warning over dips and sandwiches Natasha Allergy Research Foundation Hertfordshire Trading Standards Innventure
