Business
Correction re. Daily Mail article of 01/08/23
Correction re. Daily Mail article of 01/08/23.
About this update from J D Wetherspoon Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n4 August 2023\nJ D WETHERSPOON PLC\n \nCorrection regarding Daily Mail article of 1 August 2023\n \nA Daily Mail article of 1 August 2023 was headlined: \"Wetherspoons closes more pubs with dozens of boozers across Britain earmarked for closure…\".\n \nThe article then said that Wetherspoon \"has closed 29 pubs so far this year…\"\n \nThe article contained a number of mistakes, including the startling assertion that, \"In September 2023 the company announced that it was putting 32 of its pubs up for sale.\" \n \nIn fact, the announcement was made in 2022, nearly a year before the article appeared.\n \nIn general, the headline and article created a misleading impression.\n \nOf the 28 pubs in question (not 29), 15 have been sold to other pub or restaurant companies and are already open, or are due to reopen soon, following temporary closure.\n \nDescribing pubs that are open as closed is inaccurate and alarmist.\n \nThe remaining 13 pubs were leaseholds and the lease had either expired, or the location had been identified by the landlord for redevelopment, resulting in a surrender of the lease to the landlord. \nFor example, Doncaster Airport closed and therefore Wetherspoon's pub in the airport closed as well.\n \nWetherspoon surrendered its lease in Orpington to the landlord, as part of the landlord's plans to redevelop the shopping centre.\n \nIn Basildon, Wetherspoon surrendered its lease to the landlord, who is planning a major redevelopment in the town centre.\n \nWetherspoon has acquired another larger, freehold, site in Basildon, which is due to open in approximately 12 months.\n \nThe statement by the Daily Mail that \"dozens of boozers across the UK (are) earmarked for closure\" also creates a misleading and exaggerated impression. \n \nThe article said that a recent Wetherspoon trading update \"suggests the closures were due to difficult trading circumstances for the hospitality industry in recent years\".\n \nHowever, the trading statement made no such comment. It said that the majority of the Wetherspoon pubs in question \"had another [Wetherspoon] pub nearby\".\n \nWetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said:\n\"Pub disposals are a sensitive issue. Hyperbole and exaggeration from the Daily Mail have created unnecessary alarm....