Pub prices to rise, Wetherspoon warns
pubs chain JD Wetherspoon warned again yesterday that drinkers were facing higher prices as rising costs throughout the sector are passed on.
Chairman Tim Martin said he expects prices across the pub and catering industry to rise by between four per cent and seven per cent over the next 12 months in order to reflect higher purchase costs of food and drink and utility bills.
He could not comment on the group’s own pricing plans and emphasised the estimate was for the industry overall, but it follows a year when prices across the industry have risen by more than inflation after the VAT rise.
In March, the group said it expected prices to rise by four per cent across the sector.
The group, which runs more than 800 pubs, said sales rose by 7.1 per cent over the 11 weeks to July 10.