TIDMJDW
RNS Number : 5738Q
Wetherspoon (JD) PLC
26 February 2021
26 February 2021
J D WETHERSPOON PLC
NEWS RELEASE - CORRECTION
An article in Businessweek (26 February), regarding Wetherspoon,
contains a number of inaccuracies:
-the article says that Wetherspoon plays "host to drunken
students". This is a serious allegation to make about a pub
company. "Playing host" in this way would be unlawful, since pubs
have a legal obligation, enforced by the licensing authorities, to
prevent drunkenness. Pub liquor licences can be lost if legislation
is not adhered to. Wetherspoon has never, in its history, lost a
licence on these grounds.
-the article says Wetherspoon is "sacrificing worker pay for
affordable prices". However, average Wetherspoon pay, excluding
management grades, is 12% over the minimum wage. In addition,
Wetherspoon paid bonuses and free shares (see table below) to
employees equivalent to 55% of its profits after tax in the last 15
years. 15,032 employees own shares in the company. Since the share
scheme was introduced, Wetherspoon has awarded 20.6 million free
shares to employees, approximately 16% of the shares in issue
today.
-the article says that Wetherspoon "took advantage of a beer
supply surplus to secure cheap contracts". This is untrue. The
company has never been made aware of a "beer surplus" and believes
that "taking advantage" would be impossible, since beer is produced
in short cycles, in line with current demand.
-the article says that Wetherspoon "unlike traditional pubs ...
divides its pubs into gridlike seating plans.....reducing the
frequency of chance interactions". This claim is completely untrue.
There is no observable difference between Wetherspoon seating
layouts and those of many competitors. The reference to reducing
interactions is entirely fictional.
-the article says that Wetherspoon "leverag(ed) it's scale to
beat out smaller competitors". This is misleading. There are far
more competitors now in the hospitality industry than there were in
the past- coffee shops, restaurants and cafes, which sell many of
the same products as Wetherspoon, have grown exponentially. Many
smaller pub competitors, trading in close proximity to Wetherspoon,
like Loungers, Fuller's, Young's and St Austell have grown
substantially.
-the article refers to Wetherspoon as the "Most-Hated" pub
company. This is untrue. An independent market research survey (see
link:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5738Q_1-2021-2-26.pdf
) by CGA BrandTrack of 5,000 consumers in 2018, for example,
reported that Wetherspoon is "the preferred brand to eat out at". A
similar survey in 2019 (see link:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5738Q_1-2021-2-26.pdf
), also by CGA BrandTrack, found that Wetherspoon was the "standout
choice for branded drinking occasions".
-the article says that Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin is "a
lifetime skeptic of the EU" and that "he began in the 1990s to push
for Britain to prune its ties with Brussels". This is untrue. As Mr
Martin has said, on a number of occasions, his first opposition to
the EU was when it was proposed that the UK join the euro in around
2000, following the failure of the euro's predecessor, the exchange
rate mechanism in the early 1990s.
Tim Martin said -
"There are a number of other errors in the Businessweek article,
but these are the main ones. It is important for the corrections to
be in the public domain".
Wetherspoon: bonuses and free shares vs profits, 2006 - 2020
Bonus Profit
and free after
shares tax
--------------
Bonus
etc as
Financial Year GBPm GBPm % of profits
---------------- ---------- ------- --------------
2020 33 -30 -
2019 46 80 58%
2018 43 84 51%
2017 44 77 57%
2016 33 57 58%
2015 31 57 53%
2014 29 59 50%
2013 29 65 44%
2012 24 57 42%
2011 23 52 43%
2010 23 51 44%
2009 21 45 45%
2008 16 36 45%
2007 19 47 41%
2006 17 40 41%
--------------
Total 428 777 55%
*Source: J D Wetherspoon plc Annual Reports and Accounts 2006 -
2020
Ends.
Enquiries:
John Hutson Chief Executive Officer 01923 477777
Ben Whitley Finance Director 01923 477777
Eddie Gershon Company spokesman 07956 392234
Please email any questions to
investorqueries@jdwetherspoon.co.uk
Notes to editors
1. J D Wetherspoon owns and operates pubs throughout the UK and
Ireland. The Company aims to provide customers with good-quality
food and drink, served by well-trained and friendly staff, at
reasonable prices. The pubs are individually designed, and the
Company aims to maintain them in excellent condition.
2. Visit our website: www.jdwetherspoon.com
3. This announcement has been prepared solely to provide
additional information to the shareholders of J D Wetherspoon, to
meet the requirements of the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency
Rules. It should not be relied on by any other party, for any other
purposes. Forward-looking statements have been made by the
directors in good faith, using information available up until the
date on which they approved this statement. Forward-looking
statements should be regarded with caution, because of the inherent
uncertainties in economic trends and business risks.
4. This announcement contains inside information on J D
Wetherspoon plc.
5. The current financial year comprises 52 trading weeks to 25
July 2021.
6. The next trading update is expected to be the Company's
interim results statement on 19 March 2021.
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END
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February 26, 2021 11:44 ET (16:44 GMT)
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