Weak sales and COVID tests dent JD Wetherspoon

The price of shares in FTSE 250 pub operator JD Wetherspoon (LON:JDW) slipped 4.71% to 882.89p (as of 14:35 BST) after the firm reported that 66 staff had tested positive for COVID across 40 pubs. The company’s other 811 pubs reported no cases and 28 of the affected staff have already returned to work after self isolating in line with official guidelines.

Pub sales are still low despite some recovery with sales last Saturday down by 22.5% relative to the same weekend last year. Chairman Tim Martin commented: “Wetherspoon has invested around £15 million on comprehensive social distancing and hygiene measures. These include reducing capacity, spacing out tables, the installation of screens between tables and around tills, and an average of ten hand sanitisers per pub“.