Yahoo Finance Wetherspoon pubs to create 10,000 new jobs amid £200m investment
Major pub chain Wetherspoon (JDW.L) said in a statement that it will invest more than £200m ($262.7m) into the business over the next four years and create 10,000 new jobs in the process.
It said that the money will be funnelled into developing new pubs and hotels as well as expanding its business across Britain and Republic of Ireland.
"We are looking forward to opening many more new pubs as well as investing in existing pubs over the next four years,” said chairman Tim Martin.
"We are especially pleased that a large proportion of the investment will be in smaller towns and cities which have seen a decline in investment in recent years.”
The group, which already operates 875 pubs and 58 hotels across the UK and Republic of Ireland and employs 44,000 staff, said that the new set of pubs will be seen across Bourne, Waterford, Hamilton, Ely, Diss, Felixstowe, Newport Pagnell, and Prestatyn.
It emphasised that major cities such as London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham, Leeds, and Galway will also benefit from the business expansion.
READ MORE: Wetherspoon knocks 20p off pint in no-deal Brexit stunt
The hefty investment is a bold move considering many companies across the UK and overseas are cautious over investment plans amid an impending Brexit.
Earlier this year, British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) warned that Brexit uncertainty has put the UK on course for the most prolonged slump in business investment in 17 years.
However, Wetherspoon chairman Martin is one of the most vocal supporters of Brexit and has backed leaving the European Union without a deal. He said “the negative undertone of no-deal is an illusion” and said a withdrawal deal with the European Union is “unnecessary and counterproductive.”
Wetherspoon even stopped stocking European made drinks including French champagne, German beer, and Jagermeister last year ahead of Brexit.
In a no-deal Brexit stunt, Wetherspoon knocked 20p off the price of a pint to show how leaving the EU Customs Union could reduce costs.
Martin said at the time: “At the current time, customers and businesses pay tariffs on thousands of products which are imported from outside the EU.
“These tariffs are collected by the UK Government and sent to Brussels. Provided we leave the customs union on 31 October, the Government can end these protectionist tariffs, which will reduce prices in supermarkets and pubs.”
