Wetherspoon is putting dozens of its pubs up for sale as it battles rising costs and staff shortages.
The company owns around 800 sites across the UK and Ireland and is known for bringing beautiful old buildings back to life.
But the company recently made the commercial decision to sell off 32 of its boozers in England after warning it could be hit with £30 million worth of losses due to rising staff wages and repairs.
It comes after the cheap and cheerful chain announced a pay rise for thousands of staff in April, taking the rate to more than £10 per hour.
Commercial property specialists Savills and CBRE will market the sites that are due to be sold.
But which Wetherspoons are being put up for sale and when will they shut down?
More than a third of the Wetherspoon pubs are located in London including the infamous Angel pub in Islington and the much loved Banker's Draft in Eltham, Greenwich.
The West Midlands will also see multiple Wetherspoon branches sold off, including boozers in West Bromwich and Willenhall.
Three pubs are being put up for sale in Yorkshire as well as boozers in Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, East Sussex, Essex and Gloucestershire.
Other sites are located in Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Leicestershire, Merseyside, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire.
The Butler's Bell in Staffordshire will hit the market for a second time after it was previously put up for sale only to be saved by a 1,012-name petition.
Each pub will continue to serve punters until it is sold, with the exact venues as follows:
Bristol
Jolly Sailor, Hanham
Buckinghamshire
- Hope & Champion, Beaconsfield
Dorset
- Christopher Creeke, Bournemouth
East Sussex
Cliftonville Inn, Hove
Essex
Last Post, Loughton
Gloucestershire
- Bank House, Cheltenham
Hampshire
- Admiral Sir Lucius Curtis, Southampton
Hertfordshire
- Colombia Press, Watford
Kent
- Sennockian, Sevenoaks
Leicestershire
Moon & Bell, Loughborough
London
Asparagus, Battersea
- Wrong ‘Un, Bexleyheath
- Miller’s Well, East Ham
Hudson Bay, Forest Gate
Capitol, Forest Hill
Banker's Draft, Greenwich
Moon on the Hill, Harrow
Penderel’s Oak, Holborn
Toll Gate, Hornsey
The Angel, Islington
Alfred Herring, Palmers Green
Foxley Hatch, Purley
Merseyside
- The John Masefield, Wirral
Newcastle upon Tyne
- The Water House, Durham
Nottinghamshire
- Widow Frost, Mansfield
Staffordshire
- Butler’s Bell, Stafford
West Midlands
- Billiard Hall, West Bromwich
- The Malthouse, Willenhall
Worcestershire
- Rising Sun, Redditch
Yorkshire
Silkstone Inn, Barnsley
Percy Shaw, Halifax
- Resolution, Middlesbrough
CBRE senior director Toby Hall said the sales portfolio includes many strong locations, with more than half of the pubs situated in London and the south east.
"The excellent mix of locations in this portfolio is rarely seen in the market," he commented.
"With more than half of the portfolio located in London and the south-east and other strong locations in the south-west, Midlands and the north of England we believe the pubs represent an excellent opportunity for existing pub operators and new entrants".
Wetherspoon bosses made the announcement this week which was presented as a "commercial decision."
Spokesperson 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."
Last year, Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin came under fire when some of his branches ran out of beer.
His £448 million net worth started with running just one pub which later grew into an empire of cheap and cheerful boozers.
The treasured pub chain almost always offers the least expensive drinking venue in a town with many situated in redeveloped old banks, theatres and post offices.
Wetherspoons currently employs 43m000 people and made a profit of £76.6million in 2020.
