JD Wetherspoon says report about pubs for sale is untrue

The FTSE 250 pub company said the Daily Mail published a story online on 2 July headlined: "Wetherspoons is getting rid of 15 pubs when the chain reopens for business on super Saturday."

In a statement to the stock market, Wetherspoon said the headline and statements in the story were inaccurate. The 15 pubs were put on the market in April 2019 and five have now been sold, it said. Eight of the pubs are no longer for sale and two are still on the market.

Wetherspoon also said the story was wrong to say the company had confirmed the pubs would stay on the market but open on Saturday 4 July, when pubs were allowed to start trading after lockdown.

"No one from Wetherspoon authorised to speak to the Daily Mail, or with any knowledge of the company, made that statement," the company said. It said the article had been removed.

The company led by founder and Chairman Tim Martin, has been the subject of negative media coverage during the Covid-19 crisis. Martin initially opposed lockdown, referring to the pandemic as a health scare, and was also in the news over payments to employees and suppliers during the crisis.