Pub group JD Wetherspoon has reported growing sales but said it was cautious ahead of the upcoming Budget, with recent Government policies already sending costs soaring.
The group, which operates nearly 800 pubs across the UK, said like-for-like sales lifted 3.7% in the first 14 weeks of its financial year, to November 2.
This is up from growth of 3.2% in the first few weeks.
It saw bar sales rise 5.7%, food lift 0.9% and sales from slot and fruit machines jump 8.9%, but hotel room sales fell 6.3%.
Chairman Sir Tim Martin said: “The company is pleased with the continued sales momentum but is mindful of the Chancellor’s Budget statement later this month and, as a result, is slightly more cautious in its outlook for the remainder of the year.”
In her speech on Tuesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves braced the UK for possible income tax rises in her November 26 budget, warning everyone will “have to contribute” to helping rebuild the economy and repair the country’s finances.
Sir Tim said the group was seeing a surge in staff costs following recent policy changes, which is “dramatically widening the pricing differential between pubs and supermarkets, to the anger and consternation of customers”.
A 10% wage rise will increase the cost of a pint by about 15p in a pub compared with about 1.5p per pint in a supermarket, according to Sir Tim.
Wetherspoon employed an average of nearly 42,100 staff across its pubs and head office over 2025.
Sir Tim recently said increases to national insurance contributions and wages were adding about £60 million to the chain’s yearly costs, while it was also facing an impact from energy charges and new packaging taxes.
