13 February 2023 , 15:03
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Almost a dozen Wetherspoon pubs that had been listed for sale are now "under offer".
Each pub remains open as usual and there is no guarantee that the sale will go through.
The pub chain has simply been provided with an offer for each boozer and is now evaluating whether to accept it.
It comes after Wetherspoon announced it has put 35 pubs up for sale due to rising food and energy costs.
Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin said more people now drink in their homes rather than in pubs.
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But the latest news will no doubt be a fresh blow for punters, after the pub chain suffered a huge £30million loss.
A handful of pubs from the original list of 35 that had been put on sale have already closed or are set to close.
Thomas Leaper in Derby and The Colombia Press in Watford closed on February 5 and 6, respectively.
The Sir John Stirling Maxwell, Glasgow will close on March 26 and Willow Grove, Southport is to close some time in the spring.
Wetherspoon runs 844 pubs in the UK and Ireland and employs up to 43,000 people.
Wetherspoon pubs under offer
- Cliftonville, Hove
- Tollgate, Turnpike Lane
- Asparagus, Battersea
- Millers Well, East Ham
- Hudson Bay, Forest Gate
- Angel, Islington
- The Billiard Hall, West Bromwich
- Capitol, Forest Hill
- The Bankers Draft, Eltham
- Moon on the Hill, Harrow
- Last Post, Loughton
The pub chain recently upped prices across a range of its popular drinks and menu items, adding up to 29p to a pint and 75p to meals.
It marks the second time in the space of a few months that Wetherspoon has increased its prices as a direct result of inflation.
On the recent increase, a Wetherspoon spokesman told The Sun: “Most businesses in the hospitality industry have had to deal with big price increases in the past year or two.
“We have tried to keep our prices competitive, bearing in mind that customers have suffered from inflation too."
The British Beer and Pub Association estimated 4,500 pubs in the UK were on the verge of reducing trading hours over winter.
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Pub and bar bankruptcies across the UK rose from 280 in 2021 to 512 last year, accountancy group UHY Hacker Young said.
Peter Kubik of UHY Hacker Young says the cost of living crisis has made it hard for hospitality firms to keep operating.