More Wetherspoons pubs to shut soon with others still at risk of closure

01 August 2023 , 12:24

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More Spoons sites are set to close over August and September (Image: Mail News Media Ltd)

More Wetherspoons pubs are to shut their doors for good over the next two months with another having gone for good last week.

The Saltoun Inn in Fraserburgh, Scotland, shut for good on Sunday, July 30, while The Bankers Draft in Eltham, London, is set to close on Sunday, August 20. The Nightjar in Ferndown, Dorset, will not have its lease renewed in September, however, no official date has been confirmed for this yet.

Some of the sales of the pubs are being managed by the commercial retail estate firm CBRE Group and Savills. According to the firm's website, there are currently 17 Wetherspoons pubs which are classed as being "under offer" - this means that a buyer has presented an offer that is being considered by the seller.

Although even though an offer has been made, it doesn't necessarily mean the deal is definitely going through. So this does mean these sites are at risk. A further 10 pubs are currently "available" which means they are up for sale so could be saved if a buyer is found.

Wetherspoons announced last year that it was planning on closing 32 of its sites, before announcing that there would be further closures on top of that. As of last month, Wetherspoons said that it had 827 pubs across the UK.

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In its July trading update, the pub chain said that sites which have closed were smaller, older, or had a second Wetherspoons fairly close by - the chain said almost all closures related to this particular circumstance.

Wetherspoons noted that it was a "misinterpretation" to suggest the move was down to difficult trading conditions and that the "disposals" had only raised a "modest amount". It also noted that lower costs are set to boost its performance in the next financial year.

Last month, the popular pub chain announced that it had another 22 pubs currently on the market after having sold 28 already this year. Of the closed pubs, 15 had a lease expire or the company exercised its "break clause" - this allowed both Wetherspoons and the landlord to end the tenancy early.

CBRE Group and Savills website covering the potential Wetherspoons sales is updated often and the pubs listed in this article were correct as of writing.

Sites listed as being "under offer" include:

1. Asparagus - Battersea
2. General Sir Redvers Buller - Crediton
3. Millers Well - East Ham
4. The Bankers Draft - Eltham
5. Hudson Bay - Forest Gate
6. Capitol - Forest Hill
7. The Saltoun Inn - Fraserburgh
8. The Percy Shaw - Halifax
9. Coronet - Holloway
10. The Alfred Herring - Palmers Green
11. The Cross Keys - Peebles
12. Foxley Hatch - Purley
13. World's Inn - Romford
14. The Butlers Bell - Stafford
15. Columbia Press (Lloyds No1) - Watford
16. The Widow Frost - Mansfield
17. Wrong ‘Un - Bexleyheath

The Wetherspoons sites which are currently "available" include:

1. Christopher Creeke - Bournemouth

2. Thomas Leaper - Derby

3. Lord Arthur Lee - Fareham

4. Plough & Harrow - Hammersmith

   Wetherspoons is closing multiple pubs this month - list shows which are shutting
5. Jolly Sailor - Hanham
6. Resolution - Middlesbrough
7. The Rising Sun - Redditch
8. Sennockian - Sevenoaks
9. Former Tusk Nightclub & Waverly Tea Rooms - Watford
10. Soul Store - Kilburn

Overall the number of Wetherspoons sites at risk of closure totals 27, according to the listings on CBRE Group and Savills website.

Ruby Flanagan