Pubs told to serve beers in two-third pint glasses as Wetherspoons boss speaks out

Wetherspoon's chief Tim Martin has lambasted the "slightly daft" suggestions by academics to serve beer in two-third pint measures, urging a halt on new regulations for the already struggling pub industry.

Mr Martin, who helms JD Wetherspoon, warned that more rules aimed at curbing alcohol intake could drive Brits to drink at home instead of frequenting local pubs. He took aim at a recent Cambridge University study, which called for the end of serving beer in full pint measures and said pubs should introduce of two-thirds pint glasses, branded as schooners, to reduce alcohol consumption.

The outspoken founder described such an idea as "slightly daft," arguing that the experience in Australia with schooners doesn't correlate with a significant drop in alcohol consumption.

"Common sense indicates that reducing glass sizes is unlikely, due to human nature, to reduce alcohol consumption in pubs, and would also have no effect whatsoever on drinks bought in supermarkets, unless container sizes in supermarkets were also, unrealistically, reduced," Martin said.

Additionally, Mr Martin criticised reports that the Government might slash pub and hospitality sector operational hours. Labour officials, however, have refuted any claims suggesting trading hours will be cut.

"Neither of these proposals would seem to pass the common-sense test," he said.

Wetherspoon has reported a 73.5% increase in pre-tax profits to £73.9 million for the year ending July 28, compared to the previous year. This marks a continued recovery for the pub company, although profits remain below pre-pandemic levels.

The firm's revenues increased by 5.7% to £2.04 billion, driven by a 7.6% rise in like-for-like sales. However, this was slightly offset by a decrease in the number of pub sites, following the sale of 18 pubs and termination of leases on nine others.

Despite this, the group, which currently operates 800 pubs, maintains its long-term goal of expanding to 1,000 sites across the UK. Wetherspoon gained £8.9 million from its pub sales but recorded an exceptional loss of £13.4 million related to the pub disposals.