JD Wetherspoon scales back expansion plans

5th May 2010 07:02

Budget pub chain JD Wetherspoon has scaled back its expansion plans after a deterioration in trading since the beginning of the year.Sales in the 13 weeks to April 25 were down by 0.8% from the same period last year, a sharper fall than the 0.4% decline seen in the previous six week period.Wetherspoon said it would open 45 pubs this financial year, less than the 50 it envisaged opening in its last trading update in January.The shares fell by more than 7% after the announcement. Shares in rival pub groups such as Punch Taverns and Mitchell & Butlers were also lower.'We now feel slightly more cautious about the outlook for the next financial year, as a result of the annualised effect of recent tax and duty increases, and higher interest charges, combined with the risk of more subdued consumer expenditure,' the company said.The company pointed to the rise in VAT in January and what it described as a 'punitive' increase in excise duty for pubs.However, it remains committed to expansion.'We continue to believe there are substantial opportunities for us to acquire sites at reasonable prices,' it said.