Wetherspoon eyes small towns in bid to hit target

Pub chain JD Wetherspoon has begun to target much smaller towns as part of its plan to have 2,000 pubs by the year 2021.

Although the average population within two miles of a Wetherspoon pub is about 75,000, this year the chain opened pubs in Oxted, Surrey; Tiverton, Devon; and Bridport, Dorset - towns with a catchment population of about 15,000.

Finance director Jim Clarke said that lack of competition helped Wetherspoon's to succeed in small towns, and added: "It confirms where we thought the business was going to go."

However, Clark said the chain would be very cautious about venturing into areas with even smaller populations. "Our pubs are not locals. We are not a company that would be able to sustain a village pub with just four or five regulars," he said.

Wetherspoon's pre-tax profits for the year ended 29 July were up by 23% to £44.3m on sales up 31% at £484m. Chairman Tim Martin said he believed the company's sales would overtake the pub sales of Six Continents, formerly Bass, in the next two years.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 13-19 September 2001