Overview
- The pub group issued the update on Wednesday and said full-year profits will likely fall short of market expectations, sending its shares down about 9% on the morning trade.
- Like-for-like sales rose by roughly 4% in the three months to mid-July, a weaker gain than investors had hoped given the World Cup and warm weather.
- Management blamed higher costs across food, staff wages, repairs, energy and business rates for the profit hit and said the year already carries about £60 million of extra wage and National Insurance costs.
- Wetherspoon disclosed it has bought back about £42 million of shares this year, spent £12.2 million on four freeholds and expects net debt of about £720 million at year end while operating 793 managed pubs and 23 franchised sites.
- Chairman Tim Martin renewed calls for business-rates reform and VAT cuts as the clearest policy levers to ease pressure, a request that would require government funding or reprioritisation to materialise and could affect prices for customers and returns for investors.