# ‘How deep is your love?’, Wetherspoon asks punters

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/how-deep-is-your-love-wetherspoon-asks-punters/
- Published: 2026-11-04T08:13:57+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-04T17:38:19+00:00
- Original publisher: City AM (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.cityam.com/how-deep-is-your-love-wetherspoon-asks-punters/
- Topics: Business, Government, Politics

## Key points

- Wetherspoon says labour costs have widened the pub and supermarket pint price gap.
- Its average pub pint cost £5.34 in May, against £1.30 to £1.50 in supermarkets.
- The chain reported 9.9 per cent September sales growth despite cost pressures.

## Summary

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin says rising labour costs and government tax decisions have widened the price gap between pub and supermarket pints, asking customers how much they value pubs’ place in British social life. The debate matters to pubs as they compete with supermarkets, which have captured a growing share of beer sales.

Wetherspoon estimates labour costs at £1.68 of an average pub pint costing £5.34 in May, compared with supermarket pints at £1.30 to £1.50 and around 15p in labour costs. The group says supermarkets have taken half of pub beer sales since 2000. Despite the pressures, Wetherspoon reported September sales growth of 9.9 per cent, plans further openings and said it is on track to meet market expectations; its shares fell 2.3 per cent in early trading.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.