Wetherspoons to raise £141m in placing; planning to reopen in June

The company said it plans to issue up to 15.7m new ordinary shares, representing around 15% of its existing equity, at 900p each. Certain directors, including chief executive John Hutson, finance director Ben Whitley and founder and chairman Tim Martin, along with members of the senior management team, will subscribe for new ordinary shares worth £300,000.

The placing will be conducted through an accelerated bookbuilding process, with Investec the sole bookrunner.

"The company has taken decisive action to preserve cash and ensure sufficient liquidity," Wetherspoons said. "The net proceeds of the placing and the subscription will be used to strengthen the company's balance sheet, working capital and liquidity position during the period of disruption."

Wetherspoons said that based on the "scenario planning" undertaken, the additional capital "will provide sufficient liquidity to deal with very low sales after reopening, helping the company to return to growth as the market normalises".

News of the placing came alongside a trading update in which Wetherspoons said it was planning for a reopening of its pubs and hotels around June.

"The duration of the Covid‐19 impact is uncertain at this stage, as are its consequences for the financial performance for the full year," it said, adding that it no longer intends to issue a trading update on 13 May.

"The company's current assumptions are that its pubs will remain closed until late June 2020," it said. So far, the government has not said how exactly or when it plans to ease the lockdown, which began on 23 March and is in place until at least 7 May.

In addition, Wetherspoons said that given the circumstances it will not propose to pay a final dividend. The company already announced last month that it was cancelling its interim dividend because of the pandemic.