JD Wetherspoon has warned of lower than expected half-year profits, as the pub chain revealed a £45m surge in costs driven by “higher than expected” bills for energy, wages, repairs and business rates.
The bigger-than-forecast expenses in the 25 weeks to 18 January meant profits at Wetherspoons are now “likely to be lower” compared with the same period in 2024, said its chair, Tim Martin.
Shares in the company dropped by more than 6% in early trading on Wednesday.
The warning comes as pressure builds on British pubs, with a number of rising costs in recent years including higher employer national insurance contributions and increases in the minimum wage, energy costs and inflation.
Higher bills meant one pub a day closed for good in England and Wales last year, according to analysis of government statistics by the tax specialist company Ryan. It found the overall number of pubs, including those vacant and being offered to let, fell to 38,623 in 2025, down from 39,989 a year earlier.
The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is under increasing pressure to mitigate the impact on the sector from an impending rise in business rates. Pubs are also bracing for an inflation-linked rise in alcohol duty from next month.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Reeves said a support package was coming for pubs, but that the extra help would not cover the wider hospitality sector.
“I do recognise the particular challenge that pubs face at the moment, and so have been working with the sector over the last few weeks to make sure that the right support is in place. And we’ll be announcing something in the next few days: we’ve just been using this time to get the package right,” the chancellor said.
Challenged on whether that meant other businesses would not be included, Reeves added: “I think the situation the pubs face is different from other parts of the hospitality sector.”
Martin said the government had not spoken to Wetherspoons, which runs about 800 pubs across the UK and Ireland, about the pressures facing the industry. He noted that other governments had also failed to engage with the business.
“Energy costs in the UK are reckoned to be about the highest in the world,” Martin said. “Labour costs are also very high. Energy and labour costs tend to creep into all other supplier costs.”
The trade body UKHospitality, which represents pubs as well as hotels, restaurants and indoor leisure venues, has told Reeves that unless she U-turns on higher business rates, more hospitality workers will end up out of work.
Allen Simpson, the chief executive of the lobby group, said: “It was less than a year ago when our local hospitality venues were landed with £3.4bn in additional annual cost, and now they face their business rates increasing, too.
“We saw significant job losses before the budget, and we’re seeing that continue to accelerate.”
