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JD Wetherspoon has seen quarterly sales rise but has warned on future profits amid a “substantial” rise in costs.
In the quarter ended 26 April 2026, like-for-like sales rose by 3.4% while year-to-date sales rose by 4.3%, while total sales increased by 4.1%.
Over the past year, the company has opened eight pubs and sold eight sites. It currently operates 794 managed pubs while 21 pubs operate under a franchise agreement.
In its latest update, the group said that in the year-to-date, it has purchased 3,845,754 of its own shares for cancellation at an average price of £6.80 a share.
In addition, it has purchased the freehold reversions of four pubs for a total of £12.2m, bringing the amount spent on freehold reversions since 2011 to £489m.
Looking ahead, Wetherspoon said that interest costs for the financial year will be approximately £47m, in line with FY25.
The chairman of JD Wetherspoon, Tim Martin, said: “Sales growth was ahead of the ‘NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker’ for the 43rd month in a row in March 2026, although Wetherspoon’s growth for Q3 was slightly below the year-to-date.
“The company has a strong pipeline of new pubs and planned openings include Manchester airport, Heathrow airport, Paddington station, Charing Cross station and Shaftesbury Ave in central London. As many hospitality operators, including Wetherspoon, have reported, there have been substantial increases in costs, which may result in profits slightly below market expectations.”
