Wetherspoon’s denies prices will rise despite lower sales and higher business costs
JD Wetherspoon is feeling the pinch as business costs rise and sales are expected to fall
PUB chain Wetherspoon's has denied food and drink prices will go up, despite expectations of lower sales and higher costs in the second half of the year.
In its trading update this morning, the company said that a combination of higher wages, a £7 million bill for business rates and a £2 million hit from the Apprenticeship Levy, meant that it remained cautious about the second half of the year.
Despite increased cost pressures, a spokesman for the pub group told The Sun Online that there are "no plans" for prices to be put up.
He said: "Putting prices up is not something we're considering at the moment."
According to the company's trading update, like-for-like sales rose 3.4 per cent and total sales increased by 1.6 per cent in the first half of the year to January 15th.
Nevertheless, it predicts like-for-like sales will be lower in the next six months.
Chairman Tim Martin said: "The company anticipates significantly higher costs in the second half of the financial year.
"On an annualised basis, these are expected to rise by about 4 per cent for wages, by £7 million for business rates and by £2 million for the Apprenticeship Levy, in addition to cost increases at around the level of inflation in other areas.
“In view of these additional costs and our expectation that like-for-like sales will be lower in the next six months, the company remains cautious about the second half of the year."
Two new Wetherspoon's pubs have opened since the start of the financial year, the company said, while 21 have been sold.
It intends to open a further 10 to 15 pubs in the current financial year.
Brexit-backing Martin also used the trading update to talk about the state of the nation following the EU referendum.
He said that Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane calling economists' forecasts a "Michael Fish moment" demonstrated a "deep misunderstanding" of the situation.
He said: "Michael Fish's predictions were a misinterpretation of data on one evening, under great time pressure.
"In contrast, the majority of economists, economic institutions, politicians and intellectuals has consistently misunderstood the implications of the euro, its predecessor the exchange rate mechanism and the implications of leaving the EU, over a period of about 30 years," said Mr Martin.
He added: "The underlying reason for their catastrophically poor judgement is a semi-religious belief in a new type of political and economic system, represented by the EU, which lacks both proper democratic institutions and the basic ingredient for a successful currency - a government."
Last year, Martin used another company trading update to rip into German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.
He accused them of putting European businesses at risk by telling them not to negotiate with UK companies and to adopt an “intransigent” attitude.
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