Wetherspoon boss says 'full steam ahead' for pub group's expansion plans in Ireland

The pub chain has opened two of their most expensive ever developments in Dublin during the pandemic and are opening in Waterford soon

JD Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin said Wetherspoon has 'enjoyed great success' in Ireland and is 'continually on the lookout for new sites'.

JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has said the British pub group will continue to aggressively expand in Ireland as the business slowly returns to pre-pandemic sales levels.

Wetherspoon, last week, reported pre-tax losses of £21.3m (€25.4m) for the first half of its financial year, covering the six months to late January. 

That compared to a profit of £57.9m (€69m)12 months earlier. It also warned that it is facing higher costs from food, drink, and energy suppliers.

However, the pub group’s overall sales levels — across its near 800 pubs in the UK and Ireland — have shown signs of recovery and are currently just 2.6% less than the same period in 2019 before the pandemic.

“We’ve opened two of our most expensive ever developments in Dublin during the pandemic and are opening in Waterford soon,” said Mr Martin, Wetherspoon's founder and chairman, on the back of the results.

“We have also bought a site in Galway. So, we’re going full steam ahead,” he said.

It’s obviously difficult to say much about trade until things get properly back to normal, but we’re confident there is strong demand for pubs in Ireland.

Mr Martin warned, in January, that the group’s Irish expansion plans may be negatively impacted if trading levels across the hospitality sector didn’t quickly return to pre-Covid levels after restrictions were removed.

"Ireland has been our most heavily restricted trading area, and the area with the longest duration of lockdowns" he said in January after a trading update indicated the first-half losses that were confirmed last week.

"It is, therefore, the area of greatest sales decline — in spite of stiff competition from Wales and Scotland. Even so, the potential for recovery is great." 

Last year Mr Martin said Wetherspoon has “enjoyed great success” in Ireland and is “continually on the lookout for new sites”.

Wetherspoon has eight pubs in the Republic — across Dublin, Cork, and Carlow — with openings planned in Limerick, Waterford, and Galway.

The company is also seeking a near £500,000 refund from the UK tax authorities relating to excise duty it claims was charged twice on the same goods that were purchased in the UK and shipped to Ireland.