| Type | Public (LSE: JDW) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Hospitality industry |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Headquarters | Watford, United Kingdom |
| Key people | Tim Martin (Chairman), John Hutson (CEO) |
| Products | Public houses and hotels |
| Revenue | £996.3 million (2010)[1] |
| Operating income | £100.0 million (2010)[1] |
| Profit | £40.8 million (2010)[1] |
| Employees | 21,177 (2010)[1] |
| Website | www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk |
J D Wetherspoon plc (LSE: JDW) is a British pub chain based in Watford. Founded as a single pub in 1979 by Tim Martin, the company now owns 815 outlets. The chain champions cask ale, low prices, long opening hours, and no music. The company also operates the Lloyds No. 1 chain and Wetherspoon Hotels.
It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
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The Company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin, who opened the first Wetherspoon pub, 'Marler's Bar', at Colney Hatch Lane in London.[2] Many of the other early Wetherspoon pubs were also in the same part of Haringey. The J D Wetherspoon name comes from one of Martin's teachers in New Zealand who could not control his class,[3][4][5] and said that Martin would never make it as a businessman.
In the early 1990s, Wetherspoon began a policy of routinely selling off their smaller and/or less profitable outlets, often—but not always—replacing them with larger premises very close by. There are now around 100 ex-Wetherspoon pubs, and none of the earliest outlets in the chain are still part of the estate. As of 2008, the oldest surviving Wetherspoon is the Rochester Castle in Stoke Newington, opened in 1983.[6]
In 1998, Wetherspoon introduced over-sized glasses and promoted the "full pint".[7] This initiative was soon withdrawn, supposedly because customers were still asking for top-ups, but arguably because other pub chains did not follow their lead.[8]
Wetherspoon reported record sales in the year to 26 July 2009 with takings growing by 1.2% and pre-tax profit up by 13% to £66.2 million, reduced to £45 million after one-off costs.[9]Although it was a record sales they did not reach record profits due to the increases in government tax and duty. Wetherspoon claimed to be "the only large pub firm which opens all its pubs early in the morning", serving breakfast and coffee as well as other meals and drinks.[9] In 2011 Wetherspoon announced that they had hit the £1 Billion sales mark for the first time ever.
In December 2009, Wetherspoon operated 743 pubs in the United Kingdom and planned to invest £250 million in 250 new pubs across the country over five years.[10] As of February 2011, according to their website, the chain currently operates 833 pubs UK-wide.
Wetherspoon pioneered having non-smoking areas in pubs even before the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Health Act 2006 in England introduced smoking bans in public houses,[11] and started converting some of its pubs to completely non smoking in 2005 before introducing a complete ban in 2006.[12]
The company also owns a chain of newer style bars, under their "Lloyds No. 1" brand. Unlike the Wetherspoon branded pubs, these bars play contemporary music (along with corresponding music videos that are displayed on wall mounted televisions) and often have a small dance floor.
Although not widely promoted, a third type of Wetherspoons outlet has also been trialled in recent years, focused more on food, with minimal Wetherspoon branding and an extended menu, with table service. Examples of these include the Rocket in Putney, opened in 2010, and the Drapers Arms in Peterborough. This food focused approach was praised by reporter Thomas Howlin in the local Peterborough newspaper, The Evening Telegraph in their annual Food and Drink supplement - 'Tuh Puh in Peterborough'.
Wetherspoon also own and run a chain of hotels (known until 17 September 2009 as "Wetherspoon Lodges" or "WetherLodges", but now as Wetherspoon Hotels, following a rebranding exercise) in the UK. There are currently 16 hotels in total, with 11 in England, 3 in Wales and 2 in Scotland.
Timothy Randall Martin, the founder and chairman of Wetherspoon, was born on 28 April 1955, in Northern Ireland. He was educated at eleven different schools in Northern Ireland and New Zealand including Campbell College in Belfast.[4][13] He studied law at the University of Nottingham.[4] His early jobs included work on a construction site in Ware,[4] and acting as a sales representative for the Times.[13] In 2005 he was voted the fifth most influential person in the UK pub industry.[14] Martin is a Eurosceptic and has been convinced for many years that the euro will collapse.[15] He is an admirer of Sam Walton's business philosophy.[16] He makes numerous visits to Wetherspoon's outlets, his favourite ale being Greene King Abbot.[17]
Standing 6 feet and 6 inches (198 cm) he has been described as the "giant of the British pub industry", and is also known for sporting a mullet haircut.[18] He is married with four children.[4]
John Hutson is the Chief Executive, with total annual remuneration of £758,000, consisting of a £364,000 base salary and £394,000 bonus+other income.[19]
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