Top British pub chain Wetherspoon has confirmed it has sold 11 of its iconic pubs – two of which have closed – with the future of 35 more in doubt.
And bosses of the company also announced that eight more have been sold off, as it attempts to lessen the impact the entire hospitality industry has felt since the pandemic first took hold nearly three years ago.
The chain also suffered a whopping £30 million loss last year, with food and energy costs soaring.
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Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said: “We estimate that supermarkets have taken about half of the pub industry's beer volumes since Wetherspoon started trading in 1979, a process that has likely accelerated following the pandemic.
“Unless the industry campaigns strongly for equality, it will inevitably shrink relative to supermarkets, which will not help high streets, tourism, the economy overall, or the ancient institution of the pub.”
The closures and sales will still leave the brand with more than 800 pubs in its portfolio, however.
The 35 pubs up for sale will remain operating under the Wetherspoon brand until sold.
The company has not confirmed exactly which pubs are closing, but the ones up for sale and already sold is as follows:
Up For Sale:
The Butlers Bell, Stafford
Worlds Inn, Romford
Silkstone Inn, Barnsley
Wrong ‘Un, Bexleyheath
The Percy Shaw, Halifax
Jolly Sailor, Hanham
The Alfred Herring, Palmers Green
The Moon & Bell, Loughborough
The Widow Frost, Mansfield
Resolution, Middlesbrough
Foxley Hatch, Purley
The Rising Sun, Redditch
Sennockian, Sevenoaks
Admiral Sir Lucius Curtis, Southampton
The Colombia Press, Watford
The Malthouse, Willenhall
The John Masefield, New Ferry
The Crosse Keys, Peebles
Lord Arthur Lee, Fareham
The Saltoun Inn, Fraserburgh
General Sir Redvers Buller, Crediton
Plough & Harrow, Hammersmith
Thomas Leaper, Derby
Cliftonville, Hove
Tollgate, Turnpike Lane
Asparagus, Battersea
Millers Well, East Ham
Hudson Bay, Forest Gate
Angel, Islington
The Billiard Hall, West Bromwich
Capitol, Forest Hill
The Bankers Draft, Eltham
Moon on the Hill, Harrow
The Bank House, Cheltenham
Last Post, Loughton
Sold:
- Harvest Moon, Orpington
- Alexander Bain, Wick
- Chapel an Gansblydhen, Bodmin
- Moon on the Square, Basildon
- Coal Orchard, Taunton
- Running Horse, Airside Doncaster Airport
- Wild Rose, Bootle
- Edmund Halley, Lee Green
- The Willow Grove, Southport
- Postal Order, Worcester
- North and South Wales Bank, Wrexham
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