Lloyds No 1 pubs help Wetherspoon boost sales

Pub group JD Wetherspoon sold more than £140m-worth of food and drink in the 13 weeks to 28 October.

The figure was £140.3m, £30m (27%) higher than that recorded for the same period last year.

Like-for-like sales increased by 6%, and 19 pubs opened, bringing the total number to 541. Fifteen are Lloyds No 1 pubs.

In July last year Wetherspoon bought 10 Lloyds No 1 pubs from Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries for an undisclosed sum.

At the time they were achieving average weekly sales of £10,000. Last month this figure stood at £26,000.

Jim Clarke, finance director, said: "Their sales performance has been strong, and that encourages us to open more in the future."

Unlike JD Wetherspoon pubs, Lloyds No 1 pubs play music. About half have late-night licences.