Tim Martin, chairman and founder of Wetherspoons, has said that rising costs could hit profits at one of Britain’s biggest pub chains.
JD Wetherspoon, which has 794 managed pubs and 21 franchise sites, reported slower sales growth over the third quarter.
The pub group said like-for-like sales grew by 3.4 per cent in the 13 weeks to April 2026, compared with a year earlier.
Like-for-like sales had risen by 4.8 per cent over the six months to the end of January.
An outspoken critic of the Government, Martin has previously warned that higher taxes would drag profits lower.
Wetherspoon has warned that profits could be lower this year as costs mount
In January, he expected profits to be lower in the first half of the year, pointing to a rise in energy, wages and repairs costs, in addition to business rates, which increased by £45million in the first half of the year.
Today he said: ‘As many hospitality operators, including Wetherspoon, have reported, there have been substantial increases in costs, which may result in profits slightly below market expectations.’
The hospitality sector is facing significant headwinds, as it battles rising labour costs after increases to the minimum wage and National Insurance contributions, and the botched business rates reform.
In the Budget, the Chancellor announced a reduction in the so-called ‘multiplier’ used to calculate business rates.
But she also confirmed that Covid-era discounts for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses would be phased out.
Alongside soaring valuations – in part due to a rebound in trading following the pandemic – it means business rates bills are rising rather than falling.
Martin has previously said that each Wetherspoons pub is paying more than £1million in corporation tax, business rates, slot machine duty, and VAT.
Energy prices remain elevated while food and drink inflation continues to weigh on pub operators, at the same time as consumer confidence has taken a knock.
Julie Palmer, managing partner at insolvency firm BTG said: 'If costs continue to rise, discretionary spending-reliant businesses like Wetherspoon will bear the brunt of reduced spending, which has been worsened by losing market share to supermarkets as people choose to stay at home over going out to eat and drink.'
Shares in Wetherspoons rose 0.34 per cent to 585p in early trading.
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