Wetherspoon’s warns of £30m loss as older drinkers stay at home

Sales of draught ales, ciders and lagers drop 8%, with analysts citing customers' Covid nervousness

The pub chain JD Wetherspoon has warned of bigger-than-expected annual losses amid rising staff pay and a slow recovery in bar trade as older drinkers continue to stay at home and sales of pints slump.

The group said it was anticipating losses of about 30m for the year to the end of July after investing to attract and retain workers, and ramping up spending on the wider business, including on repairs and marketing.