Wetherspoon to temporarily hold off on further expansion
The pub giant, which has an 875-strong estate, says it will be reopening all sites in England on 4 July, following Prime Minister Boris Johnson's announcement yesterday (23 June) regarding the further easing of the Coronavirus lockdown.
It adds that, following consultation with its employees, the company has created a 'Covid-19 secure' operating plan, which sets out how the company intends to safely operate pubs when they reopen.
Last month Wetherspoon unveiled an £11m masterplan featuring a raft of safety measures to help protect employees and customers.
A recent staff survey, which received 36,004 (82%) responses from employees, found the majority plan to return to work.
Of those who responded, 35,616 said they intend to return to work immediately.
A further 4,090 will not able to return straight away due to maternity leave, caring responsibilities, or health issues; while 388 said they do not intend to return to work, and have either resigned, or intend to resign.
Wetherspoon adds that, following a share placing in April 2020 from which the company raised a total of approximately £141m before fees, a group of the company’s lending banks has approved a further £48.3m loan through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption scheme (CLBILS).
It says that while it does not currently intend to start any new pub development projects in the next year, a small number of projects that were on site when pubs closed will be completed in due course.