Covid-19 restrictions 'baffling' says Wetherspoon

Pub chain JD Wetherspoon has revealed first quarter sales plunged 27.6 per cent and said it will burn through around £14m while 756 pubs are forced to close in the second English lockdown.
By Ismail Mulla
Published 11th Nov 2020, 07:46 BST
Updated 11th Nov 2020, 07:50 BST
Tim Martin, chairman of the pub chain, said: "The entire regulatory situation is a complete muddle."Tim Martin, chairman of the pub chain, said: "The entire regulatory situation is a complete muddle."
Tim Martin, chairman of the pub chain, said: "The entire regulatory situation is a complete muddle."

The group lashed out at "baffling and confusing" coronavirus restrictions at a national and regional level across the UK.

Its slide in sales in the 15 weeks to November 8 followed a tough October after the 10pm curfew came into effect in late September, as well as table service and mandatory use of face masks.

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Wetherspoon said as well as the pubs shut across England, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, it also has 51 sites in Wales which have just emerged from a two-week "firebreak" lockdown, and a further 64 in Scotland, which are "subject to an extremely onerous tier system".

Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said: "For any pub or restaurant company trading in different parts of the UK, and for customers generally, the constantly changing national and local regulations, combined with geographical areas moving from one tier to another in the different jurisdictions, are baffling and confusing.

"The entire regulatory situation is a complete muddle.

"However, the initial regulations, following reopening, introduced on July 4, were carefully thought through, followed thorough consultation, and were based on solid scientific foundations of social distancing and hygiene," Mr Martin said.

"The benefits of the regulatory hyperactivity since then, including the imposition of a curfew, are questionable."

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Related topics:JD WetherspoonCovid-19EnglandNorthern IrelandScotlandRepublic of IrelandWales