JD Wetherspoon confident about its Irish prospects

JD Wetherspoon is understood to be confident of succeeding with its €4m hotel and bar plan for Dublin city centre, despite objections from local residents.

The British pub operator has five pubs in Ireland and a long-term target of up to 30.

The plan for a joint 2,300 sq ft bar and 98-room hotel on Dublin’s Camden Street —which would create around 100 jobs — will be its most ambitious Irish-based project, but it has faced objections from local residents citing the already large number of bar venues in the area.

While a company spokesman declined to comment on the Camden Street plan yesterday, while talking on the back of the group’s interim results, it is understood that management remains confident of the plan proceeding.

Wetherspoon’s five Irish pubs are located in suburban areas of Dublin, and in Cork city centre. It also has four other acquired sites — in Dublin, Carlow and Waterford — in varying stages of development, but no new Irish openings are currently in the group’s schedule.

Speaking in January, on the release of a second quarter trading update, the company said it was “very happy” with the trading performance of its Irish bars and was “100%” committed to expanding its presence here.

It added that it is continually looking for new site opportunities around the country.

Yesterday’s first-half figures — for the six months to the end of January — showed a 6.2% year-on-year jump in revenue to £790.3m (€1.02bn), but a near 4% drop in pre-tax profits to £36m.

The company doesn’t break out separate figures for its Irish operations.

Management said it expects a “reasonable” outcome for the full financial year, which runs to the end of July.