British pub chain buys two more sites here

British pub operator JD Wetherspoon has acquired two more sites in Dublin and claims to have a strong pipeline of prospective sites identified for its Irish expansion plans.

The company, which owns 930 pubs in Britain, opened its first bar in the Republic in July, in Blackrock Co Dublin, and has said that the early performance of that outlet — the Three Tun Tavern — has been good.

Yesterday, Wetherspoon announced that it has purchased two more Dublin outlets, without saying how much it has spent on either.

One is the former ‘The Light’ nightclub in the Westend Shopping Park in Blanchardstown. The other is a site in Swords.

Neither have opening dates, although both have general planning and licensing permission.

The Blanchardstown site will see Wetherspoon invest €3m in development costs and extra expansion/development planning permission is still required.

This year will see the group open its second Irish pub in Dun Laoghaire before it opens three next year; the aforementioned two in Swords and Blanchardstown and one in Cork.

Regarding the latter, the company has had a site at Paul Street since earlier this year.

Wetherspoon has a general plan to open around 30 pubs in the Republic over the next three years. It already has nine in the North.

Company spokesperson, Eddie Gershon yesterday said the plan encompasses a nationwide expansion and will see openings in city centres and suburbs. He said that there is “a decent number” of sites being considered.