JD Wetherspoon has included a Chester pub in a nationwide sell-off of 34 outlets – worth an estimated £40m – but promises a replacement Wetherspoon’s hotel is still ‘ on the cards’ .
The Forest House in Love Street has gone on the market but will remain open until a buyer is found.
But the company's Square Bottle outlet in Foregate Street will trade as normal. And plans to revamp the Bull and Stirrup in Upper Northgate Street and convert it into a Wetherspoon’s pub and hotel is still happening.
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Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: “Wetherspoon has put The Forest House in Chester on the market.
“It is one of 34 pubs nationwide that the company has put up for sale. We appreciate that the pub’s customers will be disappointed with the decision.
“The pub will remain open and trading as usual until a buyer is found. As and when that happens all staff at the pub will be offered an alternative job with Wetherspoon at one of its other pubs or might decide to stay with the new owners.”
He said Chester ’s existing Square Bottle pub in Foregate Street would continue unaffected and the new pub and hotel was still ‘very much on the cards’. Planning consent for a rear extension and an amended premises licence are both in place.
The national press reports that the 34-pub sell-off comes less than a week after JD Wetherspoon warned of a second year of falling profits because of higher staffing costs.
Adviser CBRE has been appointed to handle the sale of the 34 pubs in England, Scotland and Wales.
Stonegate Pub Company, the second biggest high street pub operator after Wetherspoon’s, is favourite to snap up the pubs.
The disposals, coupled with a scaled-back new pub openings target of 15 pubs, mean this will be the first time Wetherspoon’s has ended the year with fewer pubs than it started with.
Last week, the company which has 953 pubs, said it was considering a small number of freehold disposals in the course of the financial year.
Paul Breen, senior director of CBRE’s specialist markets team, said: “The portfolio represents a rare opportunity to acquire substantial high volume businesses which have seen sales growth in each of the last five years.”
He added: "Food sales represent more than a third of total sales, having increased by 40 per cent over this period, which makes the pubs ideally positioned to benefit from the continued growth in eating outside of the home.
“We anticipate strong interest from existing operators and new entrants keen to create a platform which can be used to build a successful managed estate.”
