JDW welcomes new year with 99p pints
JDW chairman Tim Martin revealed his pubs would also cut the price of many menu items across England and Wales this month, offering discounts and bargain prices from 3 to 17 January.
The pubco’s Scottish sites will also offer the discounts between 4 to 17 January.
Discounted pints include Carlsberg, Guinness, Bud Light, Dark Berry Cider, Worthingtons and Stowford Press Apple Cider. The big sale will also include Bell’s whisky, Gordon’s gin, AU vodka and Duppy White rum.
Those opting to go alcohol free for January will benefit from discounted low-and-no alcohol drinks such as Beck’s Blue, Adnams Ghost Ship, Erdinger, Kopparberg, Brewdog Punk AF and Heineken 0.0.
At more than 560 of the company’s pubs, in addition to coffee and soft drinks at 99p, Ruddles Best will be available for 99p a pint (in Scotland and Wales, due to licensing laws, the real ale on offer will cost £1.10 a pint).
Martin said: "Department stores and shops hold their sales in January, so it is the perfect time to have a sale in the pub too.
Catering to customers
"The range of drinks and food on sale in the pub is aimed at suiting a wide variety of tastes.
"This year we have included our biggest selection of low and non-alcoholic drinks.
Bell’s whisky (25ml measure including mixer) will be 99p, and a bottle of Beck’s or Beck’s Blue (non-alcoholic) will cost 99p.
A pint of Bud Light, Stowford Press Dark Berry Cider and also Stowford Press Apple Cider will cost £1.69 a pint.
Carlsberg will be on sale at £1.99 a pint and Guinness at £2.89 a pint.
Martin also said JDW would cut the price of coffee and soft drinks across 810 pubs to 99p.
In addition, 640 venues will serve discounted food. Breakfast porridge will be priced at £1.49, a breakfast muffin at £1.99 and a breakfast wrap at £2.49. What’s more, the 3oz burger meal will cost just £4.49, according to the founder.
This comes after JDW permanently shut a pub on New Year’s Eve and announced two more would close early this year.
Martin thought the sale would prove popular with customers, and said, as always, JDW staff would serve customers responsibly.
Pub closures
The move follows recent announcements by the managed pubs and hotels operator that it has placed 39 pubs on the market.
The three sites set to shut are the Edmund Halley, in Lewisham, south London, which will close its doors on December 31; the Postal Order, in Worcester, set to serve its last pint on January 9; and the Willow Grove, in Southport, Merseyside, with an unconfirmed closure sate in early 2023. Further locations are reportedly set to close.
In September, the pubco confirmed it was planning to sell 32 pubs after appointing CBRE and Savills to place the sites on the market.
JDW said it looking to dispose of 10 freeholds and 22 leasehold units.
At the time, JDW spokesman Eddie Gershon said: “On occasion, Wetherspoon does put some of its pubs up for sale. This is a commercial decision. We understand that customers and staff will be disappointed with it. The pubs will continue to operate as Wetherspoon outlets until they are sold.”
