An improved sales performance provided Christmas cheer for pub chain JD Wetherspoon.
But its chairman has warned that its expansion may be scaled back in the face of more tax hikes. The chain, which incudes pubs in Bradford, Keighley, Cleckheaton, Bingley, Shipley and Skipton, is on track to open 50 sites in the year to July but future openings may slow if the Chancellor presses ahead with planned increases in duty.
Chairman Tim Martin has called on George Osborne to scrap rises in alcohol duty, and will wait for the Chancellor’s Budget speech before deciding whether the current rate of expansion can continue.
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