Which Wetherspoons pubs could close in the UK?

Wetherspoons has shut two pubs for good – while dozens more boozers remain in the firing line.

Hove’s The Cliftonville, in East Sussex, Southport’s The Willow Grove, in Merseyside, were the latest sites to be axed, closing on Sunday. 

The closures come ahead of the shutdown of The Sir John Stirling Maxwell in Glasgow, which is pour its final pint on March 26. 

Meanwhile, dozens of other Wetherspoons sites remain at risked of being axed nationwide, in a fresh blow to Britain’s pub trade.

The sites are risk are currently on sale. But if no buyer is found, they will be permanently wrapped up.   

Wetherspoons pubs that are closing or being sold in 2023

Southport’s The Willow Grove, in Merseyside, was one of the latest sites to be axed, closing on Sunday

The Cliftonville, in Hove, East Sussex was also closed over the weekend – as the fate of dozens of other boozers remains uncertain

A total of 13 are currently under offer, reports the Mirror, which means an offer has been received by no sale has been made. 

This is the full list of pubs set to be axed by Wetherspoons:  

The Butlers Bell, Stafford

Worlds Inn, Romford

Silkstone Inn, Barnsley

Wrong ‘Un, Bexleyheath

The Percy Shaw, Halifax

Jolly Sailor, Hanham

The Alfred Herring, Palmers Green

The Moon & Bell, Loughborough

The Widow Frost, Mansfield

Resolution, Middlesbrough

Foxley Hatch, Purley

The Rising Sun, Redditch

Sennockian, Sevenoaks

Admiral Sir Lucius Curtis, Southampton

The Colombia Press, Watford

The Malthouse, Willenhall

The John Masefield, New Ferry

The Crosse Keys, Peebles

Lord Arthur Lee, Fareham

The Saltoun Inn, Fraserburgh

General Sir Redvers Buller, Crediton

Plough & Harrow, Hammersmith

Thomas Leaper, Derby

Tollgate, Turnpike Lane

Asparagus, Battersea

Millers Well, East Ham

Hudson Bay, Forest Gate

Angel, Islington

The Billiard Hall, West Bromwich

Capitol, Forest Hill

The Bankers Draft, Eltham

Moon on the Hill, Harrow

The Bank House, Cheltenham

Last Post, Loughton

The Postal Order in Worcester is one of 10 Wetherspoons pubs which have been sold 

The news comes just weeks after Wetherspoons has confirmed that 10 of its pubs will be closing for good after being sold – with another 35 branches up for sale.

Among those purchased are the Harvest Moon in Orpington, Moon on the Square in Basildon and the Postal Order in Worcester.

Chapel an Gansblydhen, in Bodmin, and Bootle’s Wild Rose will also close their doors for ever.

In January, the pub chain said sales jumped at the end of 2022 but it is still struggling to keep up with its pre-pandemic performance.

Like-for-like sales rose 18 per cent in the last quarter of 2022 at the firm’s 844 pubs, but are still 2 per cent behind 2019 levels.

Wetherspoons also noted that costs were far higher than three years ago, especially for labour, food, energy and maintenance.

Its chairman Tim Martin said: ‘The aftermath of the pandemic and lockdown restrictions have been far more difficult than anyone thought. That is the picture for the whole pub and restaurant industry.

‘People thought that after lockdown there would be a boom in people suffering from cabin fever but, instead, it has almost been the opposite situation as people have got in the habit of staying in.

‘That’s the big thing that means sales are down on 2019. Things are improving now but it’s slow.’

But Wetherspoons added that it it trumped the wider pub and restaurant sector in December, with sales jumping by a fifth compared with the national average of 15 per cent in the month, according to the Coffer CGA Business Tracker.

North and South Wales Bank, Wrexham, is another branch which has been confirmed as sold.

Mr Martin said he feels the biggest threat to the hospitality industry is that pubs and restaurants are taxed unfairly, while supermarkets pay no VAT on food sales. 

North and South Wales Bank, Wrexham, is another branch which has been confirmed as sold

He said: ‘This issue has been exacerbated in recent years because supermarkets now trade next to pubs on every high street, and with a huge tax benefit which means they can lower the price of beer.

‘By and large, I think the non-executive directors of the largest pub and restaurant companies prefer to dig their heads in the sand, and not get involved.’

But the chairman says he is ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the company’s prospects for the financial year.

Wetherspoons is one of the most popular pub chains in the UK, employing about 43,000 across its 800 sites in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.