JD Wetherspoon reports “slightly weaker” sales as World Cup fans drink at home
Pub group JD Wetherspoon has revealed that sales have been slightly weaker during the World Cup, reflecting suggestions fans have been drinking at home during matches instead of going to bars.
The results were released as part of a pre-close statement covering the financial year, which ends on 27 July.
The statement also showed that like-for-like sales had increased by 4.9 per cent for the 10 weeks to 6 July, lower than the 5.6 per cent growth recorded in the same period in 2013 but higher than the 3.5 per cent predicted by some analysts.
The company identified tax disparities between supermarkets and pubs as the main threat to its pubs going forward. VAT and business taxes are hurting pubs in less affluent areas of the UK, such as northern England, southern Wales and Scotland.