Wetherspoon's to expand by up to 30 pubs

JD Wetherspoon last week confirmed plans to open up to 30 new pubs this year after the strong performance of its non-smoking outlets on both sides of the border.

Announcing a 5.5% rise in like-for-like sales for the 12 weeks to 21 January, the pub chain said its 61 non-smoking pubs outside Scotland had continued to show an improvement in sales performance. Scottish pubs, where the ban is already in place, have also seen growth in sales with an increase of 3.9% in like-for-like sales.

John Hutson, chief executive of Wetherspoon's, said these figures were evidence that the forthcoming ban on smoking in England and Wales would not hit the company's expansion plans. "We've seen enough to give us confidence that we can prosper in a non-smoking world," he told Caterer.

The company, which has 662 pubs and bars in the UK, is to invest more than £35m developing the new pubs, including outlets in Sheffield, Bishop Auckland, St Austell, Hertford and Devizes.