JD Wetherspoon expects higher costs as Brexit uncertainty remains

JD Wetherspoon expects higher costs in the remainder of the year, the British pubs group said on Wednesday, and cautioned that uncertainty remained regarding deals with suppliers in Europe as Britain negotiates its exit from the European Union.

“The company’s sales growth has been strong in the last few months, but has slowed in recent weeks.

"The company anticipates higher costs in the remainder of the current year, for instance in the areas of wages, business rates and repairs," chairman Tim Martin, a supporter of Brexit, said in a trading statement.

The owner and operator of pubs in Britain and Ireland said sales growth slowed to 2.3 per cent in the last five weeks of the period ended October 23rd, from growth of 3.5 per cent for the 13 weeks ending at the same point.

Loss of business

The company said it had made a reasonable start in the current year, which runs until ending July 2017, but any full-year forecasts were “inevitably tentative” as deals with European suppliers could be affected if Britain fails to secure tariff-free transactions from the EU.

“If we, and companies like ours, are unable to agree on tariff-free transactions, it will inevitably result in a loss of business for European companies which have done nothing to deserve this outcome,” Mr Martin said.

Mr Martin was a prominent backer of Britain’s bid to leave the EU.

He appeared in television debates before the June 23rd referendum, while the company distributed half a million beer mats challenging statistics used by the British government to back the “Stay” campaign.

Delays

The group operates more than 900 pubs in Britain and has five bars in Ireland.

In September, it said a planned new bar and hotel in the Camden Street area of Dublin – which would be the most expensive property the chain has opened – is unlikely to open for at least a year.

It acquired the Camden Hall property in late 2014 with the intentions of opening a 100-room hotel and pub on the site as part of a €4 million investment.

However, Mr Martin said continued delays relating to planning permission meant the bar, and a second one on Abbey Street in Dublin, would not be opening any time soon.