Swashbuckling Brexit-backing Wetherspoon’s chairman Tim Martin has again spoken out against prominent backers of the Remain campaign, pouring scorn on their “gloomy economic forecasts” as the firm notched up solid sales and profits.
Advertisement
Mr Martin, who actively campaigned for a Leave vote with events at the chain’s pubs, said prosperity and freedom were key components of democracy and help drive economic growth in the future.
Wetherspoon said like-for-like sales rose 3.4% in the 53 weeks to July 24 and pre-tax profit jumped 12.5% to a record £66m ($88m, €78m).
Martin says that the ministers leading negotiations with the European Union post-Brexit don’t need to do anything because the balance of trade favours the UK.
In reaction to the solid performance, Wetherspoon shares on the FTSE 250 index were up 4 per cent, or 36p to 960p in early morning trading. However, Mr Martin, told The Irish Times in July that the company had been forced to revise its plans over the a year ago due to rising property prices.
Despite the solid trading update, Greene King did issue a cautionary note to investors about the potential effects of Brexit.
However, he added that it remains to be seen whether this will continue over the remainder of the year, given a low-inflation environment.
In June, the company had flagged concerns that Brexit would weigh on consumer spending.
He added: “Since the year end, Wetherspoon’s sales have continued to be encouraging and increased by 4.1 per cent”.
Advertisement
Ahead of its annual meeting today (Friday), the company reported that in the 18 weeks to September 4 it had seen a 1.7 per cent growth in like-for-like sales as customers enjoyed the European Football Championships and better weather. But economists have said the United Kingdom could still slip into recession and have warned that higher prices and slowing investment will eventually take their toll.
