Pub giant boss will 'try very hard' to keep price rises to a minimum

THE boss of JD Wetherspoon has said the pub group will try to “keep price increases to a minimum” amid pressure from rising labour costs, despite reporting higher sales and profits over the past year.

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The company, which operates nearly 800 pubs across the UK, has benefited from trading continuing to improve in recent months. It revealed it generated revenues totalling £2.13 billion for the year to July 27.

This was 4.5% higher than the year before, while sales on a like-for-like basis - which strips out the impact of pub openings and closures - rose by 5.1%. This was driven by both bar and food sales growth, while hotel room sales dropped by nearly 12% after deciding to exit from online booking agents in the UK.

Wetherspoon’s chairman Sir Tim Martin said that “younger people's drinks” have been on the rise across its pubs - including cocktails and “trendy” spirits such as the Au Vodka brand.