Wetherspoon boss slams 'daft' idea for pubs to swap pint glasses for schooners

Mr Martin, chairman of JD Wetherspoon, said further regulations put forward to reduce alcohol consumption would be likely to lead to more Britons drinking at home

Wetherspoon's chief Tim Martin lambasted what he sees as "slightly daft" ideas from academics about serving beer in two-third pint measures, as he made a case against introducing more regulations in the already challenged pub industry.

Despite trimming its number of establishments, the pub giant reported a bounce back in profits, driven by soaring customer demand. Mr Martin chairman of JD wetherspoons>Wetherspoon, argued that additional rules aiming to cut down on alcohol consumption would likely result in more people drinking at home instead of frequenting pubs.

He took aim at a recent Cambridge University study urging the government to ditch pint servings in favour of smaller two-third glasses, known as schooners. According to the entrepreneur, similar measures haven't noticeably slashed consumption levels in Australia.

"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," he said.

Mr Martin also slammed speculation that the Government might reduce the operating hours for pubs and hospitality venues, which Labour ministers have since refuted. "Neither of these proposals would seem to pass the common-sense test," the outspoken pub leader asserted.

Wetherspoon has reported a 73.5% surge in pre-tax profits to £73.9m for the year ending July 28, compared with the previous year. This marks a continued recovery for the pub chain, although profits remain below pre-pandemic levels. The company's revenues increased by 5.7% to £2.04bn 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 £8.9m from its pub sales but recorded an exceptional loss of £13.4m related to the pub disposals.