Wetherspoon eyeing more Irish pubs

British pub operator, JD Wetherspoon has said that its Irish operations are performing well and it is continuing to look for additional sites around the country.

The group currently operates three pubs here — having opened in Blackrock, Co Dublin; and Dun Laoghaire last year and just last month in Blanchardstown — with two more openings (Swords, Co Dublin next Tuesday and Cork in early September) pending. The group yesterday issued a pre-close full-year statement — for the 12 months to the end of July —ahead of its annual results’ announcement in September.

In it, the company said that like-for-like sales, for the 11 weeks to July 12 increased by 2.9%; with total sales up by 6.5%. In the year to date, Wetherspoon said that its total sales are up by 7.6%. However, the company has stated that it is unlikely that full-year pre-tax profits will be higher than last year, when it reported a profit (after exceptional items) of £78.4m (€111.3m).

Company spokesperson, Eddie Gershon added that Ireland is trading very well for the company and management is “more than happy” with how it has been received by customers here. He said that there continues to be “great scope” for growth across Ireland and its ongoing exapansion shows Wetherspoon’s intent here.

In addition, Wetherspoon plans to open, at some point in the medium-term in Dublin city centre and has also identified sites in Waterford and Carlow. On a group-wide basis, the company has opened 26 new pubs during its latest financial year and disposed of six outlets.

“We have nine pubs under development and, in line with our last update, intend to open around 30 pubs in the current financial year. It is our present intention to open between 20 and 30 pubs in the next financial year and we have recently announced our intention to sell 20 pubs which no longer fit our requirements,” the company said in its statement.

The company said it is anticipating a trading performance similar to, or slightly above, current year rates, with a weighting towards the second half. However, management has attacked the UK government’s recent taxation and ‘living wage’ moves, saying they add “considerable uncertainty to future financial projections in the pub industry”.

Calling for more harmonisation of Vat and business rates between pubs and supermarkets, the company said widening the financial disparity will threaten the future of many pubs.

“We estimate that each of our pubs generates taxes of approximately £650,000 per annum, around 10 times our net profits per pub,” said group chairman, Tim Martin.