J D Wetherspoon posted a sharp drop in half-year profits despite healthy sales growth, as rising wages, repair bills, and business rates ravaged margins.
Revenue for the 26 weeks to 25 January 2026 rose 5.7% to £1,088 million, with like-for-like sales up 4.8 per cent.
Bar sales climbied 7%, while food edged up 1.3% nd slot machine income jumped 8.9%. Hotel room revenue dipped 0.6% after the company dropped third-party online booking agents due to high commission charges.
Revenue growth, by all accounts, was very respectable given the economic backdrop; however, it was wiped out by cost increases.
Wages alone rose by £28 million, repairs added £10 million, and business rates contributed a further £9 million. The result was a pre-tax profit before separately disclosed items of £22.4 million, down 31.9% from £32.9 million a year earlier. Operating profit fell 18.4% to £52.9 million.
Earnings per share dropped to 15.5p from 21.5p, while the interim dividend was held flat at 4.0p.
Wetherspoon shares were down 9% at the time of writing.
Chairman Tim Martin used the results to renew his long-running campaign for VAT parity with supermarkets, noting that while sales per pub are now 35 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, energy and wage costs have risen even faster.
He pointed to Morgan Stanley research showing pubs have lost half their beer trade since 2000, including roughly 15% since the pandemic.
“The latest ‘CGA RSM Hospitality Business Tracker’, for February 2026, said industry like-for-like sales were -0.2%. During this period, Wetherspoon like-for-like sales were +3.2%. This was the 42nd month in a row that Wetherspoon has outperformed the tracker,” said Tim Martin, the Chairman of J D Wetherspoon.
“As previously indicated, increases in national insurance and labour rates will result in cost increases of approximately £60 million per annum, and non-commodity energy costs will add £7 million. The ‘Extended Producer Responsibility’ tax, a levy on packaging will cost £2.4 million in the current year, an increase of £1.6 million. These cost increases will undoubtedly add to underlying inflation in the UK economy, although Wetherspoon, as always, will endeavour to keep price increases to a minimum.”
The estate stood at 794 managed pubs at the period end, with plans to open around 15 more this year. Wetherspoon’s franchise programme is also gaining traction — eight new franchised sites opened in the half, taking the total to 16, with another 15 to 20 expected this financial year.