The beloved chain JD Wetherspoons could expand its offering of UK pubs by 185 after hints from its owner.
It comes after the company reported a huge surge in profits over the past year, which has coincided with the sale of several branches.
Wetherspoons’ founder and chairman Tim Martin stated that sales have continued to improve into the new financial year.
Earlier this morning the company informed shareholders that pre-tax profits had skyrocketed nearly eight times to £36 million for the year ending in January, compared to £4.6 million the previous year.
While no plans for immediate expansion have been revealed to the public, a spokesperson for JD Wetherspoons confirmed some exciting changes coming exclusively to Express.co.uk.
The spokesperson said: “Wetherspoon is going on site in mid-April to develop its new pub in Marlow.”
While he revealed that there are “currently no other pub developments”, it doesn’t mean the British chain won’t expand in the future.
The spokesman added: “Tim Martin has said he believes the company could reach 1,000 pubs. There are no specific locations at present.”
With 814 pubs already open for business across the UK, 185 more would have to be acquired to reach the 1,000 mark.
Wetherspoons has benefited from a steady increase in demand and easing cost inflation. Sales grew by 7.4 percent over the year, now standing at 15.3 percent above pre-pandemic levels from 2019.
The company reported revenues of £991 million for the year ending in January, an increase from £916 million the previous year.
Tim Martin revealed that like-for-like sales have grown by 5.8 percent so far in February and March, indicating a continued rise in customer demand.
He added: “The company currently anticipates a reasonable outcome for the financial year, subject to our future sales performance.”
Wetherspoons announced that its pub count has decreased to 814 after selling five pubs, terminating the lease of another five, and subletting three more sites.
Despite the reduction in the number of pubs, sales have continued to rise, with total sales now around one-third higher than in 2015.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “A lot of capacity has come out of the market and the hint that there might be potential of about 1,000 pubs compared to a current total of 814, could see the estate start to grow again.”
“That may see the return of dividends kicked further down the road. Location is key and recent openings include the Stargazer at the old Millenium Dome in Greenwich and the Star Light at Heathrow Airport.
“Overall, returning the estate to growth could be a welcome development.”
