JD Wetherspoon criticises rule changes after sales drop

(Sharecast News) - JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin criticised "regulatory hyperactivity" affecting Britain's pubs as the company reported a sharp drop in sales.
Like-for-like sales for the 15 weeks to 8 November fell 27.6%, the pub company said in a trading update. Sales in October were significantly lower than in previous months after the government tightened restrictions before announcing a second lockdown in England.

The FTSE 250 company said a 10pm curfew, mandatory at-table ordering and compulsory mask wearing contributed to lower sales. Wetherspoon said 756 of its pubs in England and the island of Ireland were closed at a cost of about £14m and would remain shut until governments allowed them to reopen

Wetherspoon shares fell 2.1% to £10.96.26 at 08:27 GMT. The shares have lost a third of their value in 2020.

England's four-week partial shutdown to stem the spread of Covid-19 is due to end on 2 December but the government has said it will review whether to ease restrictions based on infection rates. Martin has been a fierce critic of the government's actions, arguing pubs play little part in spreading the virus.

Martin said the measures announced when puts were allowed to reopen on 4 July were sensible but that changing rules since then were "baffling and confusing".

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

Wetherspoon's founder said the industry was worried about how long "temporary" measures would stay in place even after the virus is contained.

"The afternoon closing of pubs between about 3pm and 6pm was imposed in the First World War to encourage munitions workers to return to their factories - but the requirement for afternoon closing was only abolished in 1986," he said.

The company has been hit hard by the crisis. It raised £138m from investors in April to shore up its finances and took a £48.3m loan from the government in August.

"The company had £234m of liquidity on 25 October 2020," Wetherspoon said. "Liquidity is significantly higher, and current liabilities are lower, than before the March lockdown."