Wetherspoons to open 13 new pubs this year – see the list of locations and if one’s near you
WETHERSPOONS fans can rejoice as the popular chain is set to open 13 new locations in the UK this year.
The pub giant currently has 796 venues – but this number will surpass 800 by the end of the year.
Wetherspoons has already opened two pubs this year – in Marlow, Buckinghamshire and at London Waterloo station.
It plans to open a further seven pubs across the UK before the summer.
The new pubs will be located in:
- Manchester Airport – Terminal Two
- Fulham – Fulham Broadway Station
- Bath – George Street
- Beaconsfield – Station Road
- Wetherby – High Street
- Tooley Street – London Bridge
- Fareham – Whiteley shopping centre
It will also open four more pubs at Haven Holiday Parks, increasing the number of franchises to seven.
Wetherspoons announced it would open its first pub at a Haven holiday park in January last year.
The Five Stones at Primrose Valley, Haven’s largest Yorkshire park, opened in March.
The extension of the agreement will see Wetherspoons launch open pubs in the following locations:
- Cleethorpes Beach – Lincolnshire
- Devon Cliffs – Devon
- Kent Coast – Kent
- Haggerston Castle – Northumberland
These pubs should be open by spring 2025.
The report also revealed that the chain sold six pubs in the year, giving rise to a cash inflow of £4.1million.
What else is happening at Wetherspoons?
In its trading update, the company also revealed that profits were up year on year.
In the 25 weeks to January 19, 2025, like-for-like sales were 5.1% higher than in the same period a year earlier.
Bar sales increased by 4.5% while food was up 5.6%.
How can I save money at Wetherspoons?
PUB-GOERS love Wetherspoons for its competitive pricing and low-cost meals - but did you know there are more ways to save money?
Senior consumer reporter Olivia Marshall explains how.
Free refills – Buy a £1.50 tea, coffee or hot chocolate and you can get free refills. The deal is available all day, every day.
Check a map – Prices can vary from one location the next, even those close to each other.
So if you’re planning a pint at a Spoons, it’s worth popping in nearby pubs to see if you’re settling in at the cheapest.
Choose your day – Each night the pub chain runs certain food theme nights.
For instance, every Thursday night is curry club, where diners can get a main meal and a drink for a set price cheaper than usual.
Pick-up vouchers – Students can often pick up voucher books in
their local near universities, which offer discounts on food and drink, so keep your eyes peeled.
Get appy – The Wetherspoons app allows you to order and pay for your drink and food from your table – but you don’t need to be in the pub to use it.
Taking full advantage of this, cheeky customers have used social media to ask their friends and family to order them drinks. The app is free to download on the App Store or Google Play.
Check the date – Every year, Spoons holds its Tax Equality Day to highlight the benefits of a permanently reduced tax bill for the pub industry.
It usually takes place in September, and last year it fell on Thursday, September 14.
As well as its 12-day Real Ale Festival every Autumn, Wetherspoons also holds a Spring Festival.
But it was not all good news for the company as hotel room sales decreased by 6.5% in the same period.
Like-for-like sales for the last 12 weeks of the 25-week period were 4.6% higher than the same period a year ago.
Total sales have grown by 4% in the year to date.
This is slightly less than the like-for-like sales because of the six pubs which were sold in the last year.
The company’s debt is also expected to inch up in the 2025 financial year to between £680million and £700million.
In the 2024 financial year, it stood at £660million.
Meanwhile, Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin has cautioned that additional costs piled onto businesses in the Budget could be passed on to paying customers.
The pub chairman said the chain would aim to stay competitive on costs for customers but all hospitality businesses face the same pressures.
Mr Martin said: “Cost inflation, which had surged to high levels in 2022, gradually diminished over the subsequent two years.
“However, it has now significantly increased again following the budget.
“All hospitality businesses, we believe, plan to increase prices, as a result.”
Meanwhile, Young’s pub customers face paying 20p more for a pint after the Government’s Autumn budget.
Simon Dodd, chief executive of Young’s, said the chain plans to hike its prices by between 2.5% and 3% because of increased costs.
Employer National Insurance contributions will be increased from April this year, which means bosses will have to pay more in tax on workers’ pay.
Several retailers and hospitality chains are now warning they will have to pass these additional costs on to shoppers and customers.
Mr Dodd said the upcoming hike will add around 20p to the cost of a pint sold at £6.30 in London to £6.50.
Meanwhile, All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) said last year that the price of its pints could rise by between 10p and 15p.
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