JD Wetherspoon boss sells £10m of company shares
As a result of offloading these pubs, JD Wetherspoon benefited from a net cash inflow of £8.7m
JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has sold almost £10m worth of shares in the pub chain.
On 26 July 2024, Martin sold 1,361,000 of the company’s ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange at a price of £7.39 per share.
As a result of the transaction, Martin’s voting rights in the company now comprise 30,382,253 shares which is 24.58 % of the issued share capital of the company.
The news comes after JD Wetherspoon revealed it has sold or surrendered a total of 26 pubs so far this year and has seen its like-for-like sales in the year-to-date increase by 7.7%.
According to the group, which currently has a trading estate of 801 pubs, most of the disposals were smaller and older sites, or were where the company has a second pub in “reasonably close proximity”.
As a result of offloading these pubs, JD Wetherspoon benefited from a net cash inflow of £8.7m.
Like-for-like sales during the 10-week period to 7 July also rose by 5.8%. JD Wetherspoon expects its net debt to be approximately £670m at the end of the financial year.
On 6 June, the group also signed a new four-year £840m banking agreement “on attractive terms”.
