JDW confirms reopening, £48.3m CLBILS loan

JD Wetherspoon has confirmed it will open its pubs in England on 4 July, following the government’s announcement.

Following consultation with employees, resulting in over 3,000 suggestions, the company has created the ‘Wetherspoon covid-19 secure operating plan’, which sets out how the company intends to safely operate pubs when we reopen.

JDW said following a share placing in April 2020, from which the company raised a total of approximately £141m before fees, a group of the company’s lending banks has approved a further £48.3m loan through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption scheme (CLBILS).

The company does not currently intend to start any new pub development projects in the next 12 months.

A small number of projects that were on site when pubs closed will be completed in due course.

Meanwhile a staff survey, which received 36,004 (82%) responses from employees, has found the majority plan to return to work.

Of those who responded, 35,616 have said they intend to return to work, although 4,090 are not able to return immediately, due to maternity leave, caring responsibilities, or health issues.

388 have said they do not intend to return to work, and have either resigned, or intend to resign.

1,934 have said that they are either “shielding” or are vulnerable. A percentage of them will not be able to return to work at this stage.

79 have tested positive for Covid-19, of which 74 have said they have recovered, and 5 have said that they are still unwell.

834 suspected they had Covid-19, not confirmed by a test, of which 780 have said they have recovered and 54 have said that they are still unwell.

Sadly, two members of staff died at the end of April, having tested positive for Covid-19.

“Our condolences go to their families, friends and colleagues,” a spokesman said.

Full year results are now due to be announced on 9 October 2020 following a postponement.