Wetherspoons goes international because it opens first pub in mainland Europe with extra on the way in which
The JD Wetherspoon pub, called the Castell de Santa Barbera, will be based at Alicante airport in Spain. Founder Sir Tim Martin said the aim is open more in the coming months
JD Wetherspoon is to open its first pub in mainland Europe with plans for a bar at Alicante airport in Spain.
The pub – to be called the Castell de Santa Barbera – is set to open at the end of January and will be based in departures, allowing UK holidaymakers to have a taste of Britain before they fly back home.
It will trade seven days a week from 6am to 9pm and will offer traditional pub food, including English fry ups and burgers, alongside some popular local dishes such as garlic prawns and Spanish omelette. The move comes after the firm launched a Top Trumps card game so that its iconic boozers can battle it out for the top spot.
Wetherspoon founder and chairman Sir Tim Martin said: “We are very much looking forward to opening our first overseas pub. We believe it will be popular with people travelling home from Alicante airport.”
He said this marks the start of Wetherspoon’s expansion overseas. The pub chief said: “We aim to open a number of pubs overseas in the coming months and years, including those at airports.”
Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernandez Airport is becoming increasingly popular for Brits to fly into, giving them access to the Costa Blanca region on the south-eastern coast of Spain and destinations such as Benidorm.
The new Spanish Wetherspoon site will offer almost 1,000 square foot of customer space on one level, alongside an external terrace with customer seating. It forms part of plans by the chain to open 30 new pubs in its current financial year – 15 managed pubs and 15 franchises.
Wetherspoon already operates nearly 800 pubs across the UK. Recent figures showed the group notched up a 3.7% rise in like-for-like sales over the first 14 weeks of its financial year, to November 2.
But Sir Tim said at the time the firm was “mindful of the Chancellor’s Budget statement later this month and, as a result, is slightly more cautious in its outlook for the remainder of the year”.
It follows a survey which found that pubs are having to pull in punters with painting classes, bingo, balloon twisting, and murder mystery theme nights as they turn to new ways to lure them in. More than three quarters of Brits – some 76% – are more likely to visit a pub that puts on fun, wacky or arty activities, according to research by Greene King.
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