JD Wetherspoon at the Liffey in a jiffy

● Chairman unveils biggest ever group investment in Irish capital

Francois Hollande, European Commission president Jean-claude Juncker and former UK Chancellor, George Osborne.

Saying he felt vindicated that he made the right call in campaigning against Britain joining the euro in 1999, Martin told Scotland on Sunday last year: “Too many of these politicians have been loved since they were aged four, top of the class, they have been told they are brainier than anybody else, and then they find they only have the same vote as the riff-raff. They like Brussels and are predisposed to the EU.” Wetherspoon, whose Scottish pubs include the Alexander Graham Bell in Edinburgh and The Carron Works in Falkirk, said in a trading update last month that like-for-like sales climbed 4 per cent in the third quarter to 23 April, while total sales rose 1.3 per cent.

The group forecast a “slightly improved trading outcome” for this financial year thanks to better than expected yearto-date sales, with same-floorspace sales up 3.5 per cent and total sales up 1.4 per cent.

However, Martin repeated his warning that the pubs sector remains under pressure from higher staff wages, higher energy bills, alcohol duties and cheap beer sold by supermarkets.