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JD Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin today attacked a teenage "vodka-drinking culture", claiming the pub trade and the police are paying the price for failed Government policies.
Unveiling six-months results that indicate his company is defying the recession - partly thanks to 99p-a-pint offers - Martin agreed binge drinking is a problem but insisted pubs are not to blame.
Government pressure to keep 16 year-olds out of pubs just makes the situation worse by forcing them on to the streets, he argues.
"The effect of making it far more difficult for 16-18 year-olds to drink in pubs is that young people are drinking in circumstances in which no adults are present.
"The uneasy equilibrium which existed in the past was not perfect, but the current situation is worse and it is contributing to a vodka-drinking culture among young people," said Martin.
"Attempts to crack down on pubs serving under 18 year-olds are putting a huge and unjustified pressure on pubs, the police and other authorities, while exacerbating the underlying issues."
Wethersoon's sales in the six months to the end of January rose 6.5% to £469 million. But profits slipped 4.7% to £42 million.
However, the group is well placed to benefit from strife in the sector. About six pubs close every day - at which pace the last UK boozer will call time in 2037.
Venues managed by a pub company like Wetherspoon - rather than individual tenants tied to a group that forces them to buy-in beer at expensive prices - are faring relatively well.
Landlords tied to big pub companies increasingly claim they cannot cope with rents and the cost of the beer they are contractually obliged to buy.
Wetherspoon plans to add to its portfolio of 714 pubs this year as competitors go out of business.
Chief executive John Hutson said: "We are not looking to grab big handfuls of pubs, we enjoy picking them up one at a time.
"Lately we are finding more and more premises that were already pubs, so we can fit them out for half the price."
The company is not paying a dividend as it moves to slash a £435 million debt pile.
Its cashflow is so strong it should be able to pay back a $140 million (£100.6 million) loan due in September from reserves, but it has arranged a new £20 million facility with Abbey Santander just in case.
Like-for-like sales edged up 1.9%.
Reader views (1)
JD Wetherspoons make money by giving value for money. The do not try to rip-off their customers and are cheaper than most other pubs.
- Mick, London, England, 13/03/2009 11:15
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