Wetherspoon confident of pub trade 'normality' and Irish growth

British pub group JD Wetherspoon has ambitious plans to grow its Irish network of pubs over the coming years.

British pub group JD Wetherspoon is hopeful that the improving signs in the war against Covid-19 will allow it to press ahead with the development of its Irish bar portfolio.

Wetherspoon’s shares jumped more than 20% on Monday, adding around £150m to its market value, as hospitality stocks got a shot in the arm from the news of positive preliminary test results of Pfizer’s potential Covid vaccine.

Last month, Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said the group’s investment plans were effectively on hold until there was more certainty over medium term plans for the pub trade in both Britain and Ireland.

However, the group has struck a more upbeat tone on the back of its latest trading update. “The announcement of a potential vaccine gives some hope that normality can resume sometime in the new year. Hopefully, the government in Ireland will allow pubs to reopen in the near future,” said Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon.

We have a number of new sites in the Republic which we are keen to develop and we’ll look to develop those as things become a bit clearer

Wetherspoon has seven pubs in Ireland, a small number in various stages of development, and a long-term plan to have around 30 operating here.

Construction of the group's €21m pub/hotel project on Dublin's Camden Street is due to be completed by the end of this month.

Wetherspoon posted a 27.6% drop in sales for the first quarter of its new financial year, impacted by fresh Covid restrictions including a 10pm drinking curfew in the UK.

Ireland’s two pub representative groups — the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) and the Vintners Federation of Ireland — have warned of a “two-tier” Christmas if bars remain closed even when restrictions are eased, as expected, next month.

“It’s not okay for the Government to impose this burden on tens of thousands of families all across Ireland. It’s not okay for Government policy to be creating a ‘haves and have nots’ division all over the country around Christmas," said LVA CEO Donall O'Keeffe.

Meanwhile, one of Wetherspoon’s pub group rivals in the UK, Marston’s has asked some of its lenders for additional waivers during the first-half of 2021, following renewed lockdowns in Wales last month and England last week.