(Adds detail from statement, background)
Jan 19 (Reuters) - British pub group JD Wetherspoon
warned on Wednesday it would record a loss for the first half of
the fiscal year after the Omicron coronavirus variant led to
renewed curbs in the country and kept people from heading out
during the holidays.
Government advice for people to limit social contacts in the
run-up to Christmas in response to an Omicron winter surge left
pubs and restaurants largely empty during what should be one of
their busiest periods.
The pub group, often referred to simply as "Spoons" by its
younger customers, said like-for-like sales fell by 11.7% in the
25 weeks to Jan. 16, with second-quarter sales hurt by
restrictions https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/british-ministers-decide-lifting-englands-covid-curbs-2022-01-18
imposed by Britain in December.
"The uncertainty created by the introduction of Plan B
COVID-19 measures makes predictions for sales and profits
hazardous," Wetherspoon Chairman Tim Martin said in a statement.
Martin has been an outspoken critic of the British
government's handling of the health crisis.
The chain also accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his
team of hypocrisy over reports of a drinks party https://reut.rs/3FIP95r
at his official residence during the country's first lockdown
when pubs were forced to close.
Wetherspoon also took aim at Britain's taxation system which
it argued favours supermarkets over pubs.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka and Priyanshi Mandhan in
Bengaluru; Editing by Milla Nissi)