Finance
Wetherspoon cautious as sales growth slows ahead of UK budget
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on November 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on November 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Wetherspoon reports a sales slowdown and warns of potential impacts from the upcoming UK budget, highlighting challenges in the hospitality sector.
(Reuters) -British pub chain JD Wetherspoon reported a slowdown in recent sales growth on Wednesday and warned of a heavy blow to the industry if the government repeats last year's mix of tax increases and higher wage costs in this month's budget.
The company said it was slightly more cautious in its outlook for the remainder of the year.
The comments underscore the challenges facing Britain's hospitality sector, with even value-focused players like Wertherspoons struggling to draw in customers amid cost-of-living pressures.
Wetherspoon chair Tim Martin said another 10% increase in wages would increase the cost of a pint by about 15 pence in a pub versus about 1.5 pence in a supermarket.
"Increased labour costs are, consequently, dramatically widening the pricing differential between pubs and supermarkets, to the anger and consternation of customers," he said.
UK finance minister Rachel Reeves is expected to have to raise billions of pounds in taxes in her November 26 budget to keep control of public finances, despite pledging a year ago that she would not repeat her revenue-raising measures then.
Shares in Wetherspoons, known colloquially as Spoons, were down 2.7% to 624.5 pence at 0823 GMT.
Analysts are particularly wary of Wetherspoons exposure to potential increases in labour costs and gaming machine duties, with staff wages accounting for about 40% of its sales, according to Peel Hunt analysts, and its high-margin gaming machines providing a buffer against other cost pressures.
The company, which runs more than 800 pubs in the UK and Ireland, reported a 3.7% rise in like-for-like sales in the 14 weeks to November 2, driven by bar sales and sales from gaming machines.
That was down from 5.1% growth in the previous 12 weeks.
($1 = 0.7451 pounds)
(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru. Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Mark Potter)
Sales growth refers to the increase in revenue generated from sales over a specific period. It is often expressed as a percentage and indicates how well a company is performing in attracting customers and increasing sales.
The cost-of-living crisis refers to a situation where the prices of essential goods and services rise significantly, making it difficult for individuals and families to maintain their standard of living.
Increased labor costs refer to the rise in expenses associated with employing workers, including wages, benefits, and taxes. This can affect a company's profitability and pricing strategies.
A pint is a unit of measurement for liquid volume commonly used in the UK and the US. In the context of pubs, it typically refers to a serving of beer or cider.
Like-for-like sales compare the revenue generated from stores or outlets that have been open for a specific period, excluding new openings or closures. This metric helps assess a company's performance over time.
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