An improved sales performance provided some Christmas cheer for pub chain JD Wetherspoon but its chairman warned today that its expansion plans may be scaled back in the face of more tax hikes.
The chain, which operates 850 pubs across the country including the Resolution, Isaac Wilson and Swatter’s Carr in Middlesbrough, is on track to open 50 sites in the year to July but future openings may slow drastically if the Chancellor presses ahead with planned increases in duty.
Chairman Tim Martin has called on George Osborne to scrap the rises in alcohol duty, which have been going up above the rate of inflation in recent years and will wait for the Chancellor’s Budget speech before deciding whether the current rate of expansion can continue.
The chain said today that like-for-like sales in the 12 weeks to January 15 increased 3.6%, which was up from 1.1% in the previous quarter.
However, the most recent figures were flattered by comparisons with a weaker performance in the previous December when Arctic blizzards kept people at home.