JD Wetherspoon pauses expansion plans for a year

JD Wetherspoon has paused expansion plans for a year after securing a £48.3m coronavirus loan ahead of reopening its pubs in England on 4 July.

The pub giant said it will not commence work on any new sites in the next year, with those projects that were being developed pre-lockdown to be completed "in due course".

Following prime minister Boris Johnson's confirmation of a 4 July opening for hospitality yesterday JD Wetherspoon confirmed its pubs would be reopening, with additional health and safety measures in place.

It said it had consulted with staff to draw up its Covid-19 operating plan. More than 36,000 staff (82% of employees) took part in the survey and 35,616 have said they intend to return to work, although just over 4,000 will not do so immediately due to their circumstances.

Almost 400 have said they do not intend to return and have resigned or plan to resign.

JD Wetherspoon raised £141m before fees from a share placing in April and has borrowed £48.3m through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS).