Shakespeare: Spoons set to enjoy post-lockdown rush April 7, 2021 Tim Martin, the founder and chairman of the pub chain JD Wetherspoon, has outlined the company’s plans to invest £145 million in expanding and upgrading its pub estate. Over the next 12 to 18 months the 75 planned projects would establish 18 new pubs, upgrade and extend 57 of its existing pubs, and create 2,000 [...]
Festive, err, fun: The best (and worst) Christmas food from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Amazon, Pret and more December 12, 2023 We've ranked the best (and worst) Christmas food available in supermarket
Best beer gardens in London from Lock Tavern to The Captain Kidd August 13, 2024 It's almost beer garden season but with the risk of a downpour, it better be a really good one: here are the best London has to offer
More than 250 hospitality bosses call for VAT freeze as diners hit by rising costs February 7, 2022 Restaurant bosses from big names including JD Wetherspoon and Greene King have signed a letter to the Chancellor calling for a VAT freeze at 12.5 per cent. In an open letter to Rishi Sunak, more than 250 hospitality businesses have called for a re-think of plans to hike the VAT rate back to 20 per [...]
Hospitality firms plead for energy bill support to survive ‘dire’ situation worse than pandemic August 16, 2022 A host of hospitality and small business bodies yesterday warned that many pubs, restaurants and hotels will not survive the “onslaught” of higher energy costs in the coming months. Representative bodies including UK Hospitality warned politicians that unlike domestic customers, rates are not capped for small businesses. Last week analysts at forecaster Cornwall Insight suggested [...]
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour kicks off today. How much is it really worth to the UK economy? June 7, 2024 As Taylor Swift starts the UK arm of her Eras tour, we look at how much will it help British business, and where will that benefit be felt.
Wetherspoons resolves pigs in blankets shortage in time for Christmas December 17, 2019 JD Wetherspoon customers can breathe a sigh of relief as pigs in blankets are back on the menu in the run up to Christmas following a shortage earlier this week. Pigs in blankets had been served without their blankets in some pubs due to supply chain problems earlier this week. Read more: Which wines to [...]
Some rationality called for amidst the drumbeat to restrictions December 14, 2021 Who would have thought that just five years after the Brexit referendum, Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin and the CBI would be back on the same side. Truly, Covid-19 has made for the strangest of bedfellows. Both have railed, reasonably, against the new Plan B restrictions which are well on their way to being passed into [...]
The party’s over: Pub bosses warn pint prices will rise despite Budget promises October 28, 2021 A major pub boss has swiftly ended the party for cheaper pints, warning prices could creep up by 25p to 30p in spite of the 3p price cut promised by ‘fizzy Rishi’ in Wednesday’s Budget. Speaking to BBC’s Today Programme, Shepherd Neame chief executive Jonathan Neame, whose brewery runs 300 pubs across the South East, [...]
‘Freedom day’: Pub bosses wipe down the bar for a 21 June return May 5, 2021 The UK’s pub bosses are wiping the bar down for a June return, coined “freedom day”, urging prime minister Boris Johnson to stick to his roadmap for the easing of restrictions. JD Wetherspoon, Greene King, Slug & Lettuce owner Stonegate and Young’s have all expressed their intentions for a 21 June return of bar service, [...]