Wetherspoon has strong Christmas but warns of headwinds

Pubs group JD Wetherspoon said profits were ahead of expectations after strong sales, but warned that “significant costs” would weigh on its performance over the remainder of the year and said the 2018 football World Cup was an unpredictable element for trading.

It came as the pub chain, which opened The Caley Picture House in Edinburgh last year, said like-for-like sales rose 6 per cent in the 25 weeks to 21 January, with total sales climbing by 4.3 per cent.

Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin said: “We face significant costs in the second half in areas which include labour, business rates and the sugar tax.

“There will also be some uncertainty as to the effects on our business of the Fifa World Cup. Nevertheless, given better-than-expectedyear-to-date sales, we currently anticipate a slightly improved trading outcome for this financial year.”

City analysts noted that yearend net debt is expected to be about £30 million higher than it was at the end of the last financial year.

Wetherspoon, which has more than 900 pubs Uk-wide and about 70 in Scotland, shelled out £15m on buying the freeholds of pubs where it was previously a tenant and bought £51m worth of shares back from shareholders.

The group, whose other Edinburgh pubs include The Standing Order, said it “remains in a sound financial position”. 0 Founder and chairman Tim Martin: Facing increased costs