JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has criticised the UK government’s approach to coronavirus following prime minister Boris Johnson’s advice that the public should avoid pubs and restaurants.
Said Martin, “I believe the government will make a tactical error in resorting to de facto ‘lockdown’. The Dutch position of frankly admitting that most people will get the virus, while protecting the elderly and sick, thereby building up group immunity, is the best path for the UK. As scientists have said lockdown for twelve weeks results in a further breakout of infections in July.
The difference in keeping the hospitality industry open, even with reduced sales, is colossal. The industry contributes £120 billion a year of tax and six million jobs. Wetherspoon alone contributes £2m a DAY of tax. Lockdown delays the inevitable and destroys the tax base at the same time, which will cripple the NHS and the economy.”
He continued, “This is evidenced by Wetherspoon sales which have been positive in the last few weeks in spite of storms and health scares.”
Martin added, “Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte warned in a televised address to the nation that most residents would get coronavirus, but he ruled out a full lockdown like other European countries. Rutte says his government wants to build ‘group immunity’ while waiting for a vaccine, by letting the least vulnerable people catch the virus while protecting the elderly and sick. This could take ‘months, or even longer’.”
Britain’s hospitality industry contributes more than £120bn a year to the economy and is worth more than the automotive, pharmaceuticals and aeronautics industries combined. More than 3.2 million people work in pubs, restaurants and other outlets, making it the third-largest sector for employment. A further 2.8 million work in the wider supply chain.
Wetherspoon is to invest more than £200 million on its pub estate over the next four years. It will invest the money developing new pubs and hotels as well as enlarging its existing pubs across the UK and Republic of Ireland.
The company anticipates that the investment will result in approximately 10,000 new jobs.
The majority of the investment will be channelled into developments in small and medium sized towns, but will also include larger towns and cities.
These are set to include new pubs in Bourne, Waterford, Hamilton, Ely, Diss, Felixstowe, Newport Pagnell and Prestatyn.
It will also be investing in major cities including London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham, Leeds and Galway.
Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin (pictured) said, “ We are looking forward to opening many more new pubs as well as investing in existing pubs over the next four years.
“We are especially pleased that a large proportion of the investment will be in smaller towns and cities which have seen a decline in investment in recent years.
“The fact that we will be creating approximately 10,000 jobs is great news too.”
Wetherspoon operates 875 pubs and 58 hotels across the UK and Republic of Ireland and employs 44,000 staff.
Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has launched an attack on City rules, arguing they have caused firms to go bust and pose a threat to the UK economy.
He was also scathing about shareholder advisers, who have told investors to vote against the company’s annual report over the pub chain’s spending £95,000 on pro-Brexit beer mats.
In a lengthy trading update, Mr Martin then waded into one of the company’s biggest shareholders, whose actions he said had destabilised the company.
Business-wise, like-for-like sales increased by 5.3% and total sales by 5.6% in the 13 weeks to 27 October 2019, with one pub opened and four shut. It also said JD Wetherspoon aimed to open up to 15 pubs in the current financial year.
But Mr Martin mainly used the update to vent his anger at the system of corporate governance (CG) and rules that say non-executives should only serve on boards for a maximum of nine years.
These roles are supposed to be impartial and regulators believe there is a risk to their independence if they stay longer.
He said, “There can be little doubt that the current system has directly led to the failure or chronic underperformance of many businesses, including banks, supermarkets and pubs.
“I believe by vesting so much power in non-executive directors (NEDs), the system is also disenfranchising executives and the workforce – the people who have real expertise and are the cornerstone of business success.
“Another tectonic fault is that the institutions and advisers which oversee the code… do not themselves adhere to the rules they impose on others.”
He added, “A core problem is that CG institutionalises short-termism, inexperience and navel-gazing.”
“In summary, my view is the UK CG system is up the spout – and is itself a threat to listed companies – and therefore to the UK economy.”
He also singled out PIRC’s boss, Alan MacDougall, saying, “MacDougall has questionable personable judgement, referring to himself on his Twitter account as a ‘governance expert’ and an ‘ex-Eurocommunist’.
“In my opinion, many people equate communism with fascism, since millions of Europeans perished or were imprisoned under its yoke.”
JD Wetherspoon has scaled down plans to open a 69-room hotel to a 28-bed one above its Crystal Palace pub on Glasgow’s Jamaica Street.
It has also asked Glasgow City Council for permission to open a beer garden on the land between the pub and Sub Club as part of the £3M project.
Company spokesman Eddie Gershon told DRAM, “We have submitted plans to build a 28 bedroom hotel above the pub, The Crystal Palace, in Jamaica Street. This would be developed in vacant floors above the pub.
He continued, “We would also be looking to build a beer garden in the vacant plot by the pub which is owned by the company. If the project went ahead, then we would create 20 new jobs. We believe the plans highlight our commitment to the pub and its customers and to Glasgow itself. Hopefully it would also act as a catalyst for other businesses to invest in the area.”
JD Wetherspoon is to invest £750,000 in The Hunters Hall, in High Street, Galashiels to increase the pub’s capacity by 50%. It will be able to cater for 594 from 394 customers after Scottish Borders Council’s licensing board voted unanimously in favour of the proposals.
Wetherspoon has already secured planning permission to extend into the old JB Hogg butcher’s shop next door, which has been vacant since owner Jim Hogg retired in 2013.
The pub takes its name from the tower used by the Earls of Douglas, who once administered the area. The tower, known locally as ‘Hunters Hall’, was demolished in 1813 to make way for the old town school.
The Hunters Hall, opened in the late 1990s, is one of three Wetherspoon pubs in the Borders, the others being the Bourtree at Hawick and the Cross Keys at Peebles.
Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin (pictured) is calling on pub and restaurant operators to show their support for a UK-wide Tax Equality Day on Thursday September 13.
And he has the backing of leading industry organisations, UK Hospitality and the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) who are calling on their members to join in too.
Each of Wetherspoon’s pubs in Scotland will offer customers a 7.5 per cent reduction on all food, soft drinks and hot drinks. Pubs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be cutting the price of all food and drink by 7.5 per cent on the day.
Tax Equality day is aimed at highlighting the benefit of a VAT reduction in the hospitality industry.
Prices at Wetherspoon pubs will be reduced for one day only, in order to show the benefits of a VAT cut.
At present all food in pubs is subject to 20 per cent VAT, compared to supermarkets which benefit from a zero VAT rate on the vast majority of food products.
Tim Martin said, “Pubs suffer a huge disadvantage paying about 16 pence in business rates per pint versus about two pence for supermarkets.
“In addition there is a huge VAT inequality and unfairness.
“A reduction in the level of VAT on a long-term basis will create a level playing field and generate growth and jobs in an important and vital industry – especially in beleaguered high streets.
“We’re aiming to make it the busiest day of the entire year in our pubs and would urge other pub and restaurant operators to participate too.”
UK Hospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls, said, “Tax Equality Day is a great way to highlight just how hospitality businesses are disproportionately hit by VAT.
“The tax disparity between the hospitality sector and supermarkets is still far too high. Pubs are paying around a third of their turnover in tax compared to a fifth for big supermarkets able to sell alcohol at very cheap prices.
“A cut in the rate of VAT for the hospitality sector can help address this unfairness and allow pubs and bars to invest in their businesses and staff members.
“We hope that everyone will support this year’s Tax Equality Day and send a clear and unequivocal message to the Chancellor to give the sector the VAT cut it deserves.”
And BBPA Chief Executive Brigid Simmonds added: “Cutting the tax burden on pubs should be a top priority for the Government.
“We welcome this Tax Equality Day initiative as a way of reminding customers that our pubs are over-taxed and we need action now to hold down the cost of going out.
“VAT reform is long overdue and beer duty and business rates are disproportionately high for pubs in the UK.”
Nigel Evans MP for Ribble Valley said: “The hospitality campaign to recognise tax equality is a welcome and much anticipated event which now resonates with our national consciousness.
“This year’s Tax Equality Day has a special significance as it could be the final year before it achieves its goal as a result of the tax cutting freedoms which Brexit will endow the government with.”
Wetherspoon have been given the green light by licensing chiefs to open a £1.5m pub in Stirling’s Spittal Street. Stirling Licensing Board voted four to one in favour of the licence. The board originally approved the licence back in September, but then rival pub operator Greene King sought a judicial review on a point of law and it was agreed the case be re-heard, which led to the board being asked by the Court to reconsider its original decision.
Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said, “We would now ask Greene King to respect the decision made by members of Stirling Licensing Board. This would then allow Wetherspoon to invest more than £1.5m on the new pub and create 50 jobs in the process, which has to be good news for the city. Just as important, it would offer people in Stirling more choice in terms of which pub they wished to visit.”
The pub, which is expected to open later this year, has got a stated capacity of 707, however Wetherspoons have said that due to the layout of the pub that they would not expect more than 350 to 400 capacity. Greene King subsidiary, Belhaven Pubs, already operates seven pubs in Stirling including City Walls, No. 2 Baker Street and Drouthy Neebors. Meanwhile Wetherspoons are currently undertaking a £1m revamp of Ferry Jolly’s in Broughty Ferry. It is expected to open later this year.
Wetherspoon Chairman Tim Martin has criticised brewer and pub company Greene King for its decision to seek a judicial review against a planned Wetherspoon pub in Stirling’s Spittal Street, accusing them of trying to “preserve a local monopoly in Stirling.”
The judicial review, set for later this year, relates to a disused retail shop in the town centre, which Wetherspoon is aiming to develop into one of its pubs with a £1.5m spend. It has already been granted a licence by the local licensing board, but Greene King is now challenging the board’s decision.
Mr Martin said, “I do not feel it is right for competitors to try and prevent Wetherspoon from opening a new pub.
“It is a throwback to the 1980s when the major brewers tried to stop Wetherspoon and other companies opening up close to their pubs. It seems to me that Greene King are frightened of competition and are seeking to preserve a local monopoly in Stirling.
He added, “The strange thing is that Wetherspoon is Greene King’s biggest customer and we have traded with them for more than 30 years, so we are more than a little surprised by their actions.”
Greene King declined to comment when contacted by the DRAM.
Wetherspoon’s PR advisor Eddie Gershon told us, “ I’m not surprised, what can they say. However Greene King’s beers are incredibly popular in our pubs, and Tim’s comments are not a threat in any way, but we were surprised by their actions. It’s a throwback to the 1980’s.”
Stirling Council has approved plans by J D Wetherspoon to change the use of the former tax office on the city’s Spittal Street. The plans are now subject to approval from the licensing board, although no date has been set for Wetherspoon’s licensing board hearing. Meanwhile, the board has turned down an application for a 3am licence from The Kilted Kangaroo on Upper Craigs because of concerns raised by the police and local City Centre Community Council.