JD Wetherspoon aims to curb price rises after energy and tax costs bite

The boss of the pub chain JD Wetherspoon has vowed to keep price increases to a “minimum”, after blaming a beefed-up packaging tax and rising energy bills for extra costs.

- Mark Sweney

Tim Martin said the recent “extended producer responsibility” levy on packaging would lead to the company’s costs from the tax tripling from £800,000 to £2.4m a year.

He said suppliers were passing on the levy they were paying on packaging - mostly glass bottles but also boxes and wrapping to the pub chain.

Martin also criticised the impact of what he termed “non-commodity” energy costs - taxes or levies added to the group's bills for the electricity it uses - which he said would add £7m a year from this month. He said the increase in energy costs was partly because of a “levy” to drive the construction of nuclear power stations and a “subsidy” for “energy-intensive industries”.