Record profits for UK pub chain

British pub chain JD Wetherspoon hailed its best ever annual results today after the company went back to basics to ride out the recession.

The group reported underlying pre-tax profits up 13.6% to £66.2m (€75.7m) and sales of £955.1m (€1.1bn) in the year to July 26 - a record since the firm was incorporated in 1983, according to Wetherspoon.