Wetherspoon's Tim Martin renews call for the UK to leave the EU

11 March 2016 by Janet Harmer

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has renewed his call for an exit from the EU in order to return power to the national parliament.

He made his comments as the group of more than 954 pubs in the UK announced a 3.9% decrease in pre-tax profit to £49.4m in its interim results for the 26 weeks to 24 January 2016. Like-for-like sales increased by 2.9%, with total revenue up 6.2% to £790.3m.

In the six weeks to 6 March 2016, since the end of the reporting period, like-for-like sales and total sales grew by 3.7% and 5.7% respectively.

The decline in operating margin was explained as being due to a lower gross margin and higher rates for pub staff. However, the reduction in profit before tax was partially offset by a property gain of £3.8m.

Commenting on the results, Martin said that sales comparisons in the second half of the financial year would be slightly more favourable, despite further wage increases in April.

"As a number of pub companies have indicated, the pub and restaurant market is highly competitive, but we are aiming for a reasonable outcome for the financial year," he added.

Martin went on to say that the biggest danger to the pub industry was the ongoing tax disparity between supermarkets and pubs, with supermarkets not paying the 20% VAT on food sales that pubs pay, enabling them to subsidise their alcohol prices.

Regarding Martin's support of the leave campaign in the EU debate, he said that a withdrawal from Europe will increase the level of democracy and accountability in the UK. Once outside the EU, he believes it would be in the economic and other interests of the UK and its European neighbours "to have friendly relations, strong business links, including free trade and, I believe, free movement of labour".

He pointed to Norway and Switzerland, which are not in the EU, as being two of the "richest and most successful countries in the world", with EU countries having an open trading relationship with them and citizens from both countries being able to live and work in the UK, needing only a passport or identity card.

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