Wetherspoon profits slide 28% as rising costs offset record sales

J D Wetherspoon’s annual pre-tax profit fell 28% as higher costs wiped out the benefit of record sales, the pub chain reported on Friday.

Revenue for the 52 weeks to 26 July 2026 rose 5.2% to £2,238m, with like-for-like sales up 4.2% — bar sales climbed 6.1%, slot and fruit machines 7.4%, food 1.2% and hotel rooms 1.3%, according to Sharecast. But pre-tax profit before separately disclosed items slid to £58.6m from £81.4m a year earlier, as total costs rose 5.3%, driven by £46m in extra wages, £31m of repairs and £9m of business rates, the company said in its RNS filing. Operating profit before separately disclosed items dropped to £120.2m from £146.4m, with the operating margin falling to 5.37% from 6.88%.

Founder and chairman Tim Martin said the hospitality industry “has borne the brunt of government-led tax and regulatory cost increases, especially in the last two budgets”, adding that pubs and restaurants “pay around 40% of their receipts as taxes of one sort or another”. He said he hoped “the powers-that-be will refrain from any further increases”.

Current trading is stronger: like-for-like sales rose 8.6% in the nine weeks to 27 September, including a 7.7% uplift in August, helped by the unusually warm summer. The company said it expects full-year pre-tax profit before separately disclosed items to be in line with market expectations, with consensus at around £74m.