Forecasts 60 mln stg in costs after budget
Sales up 5.9 in first 14 weeks of fiscal year
Chairman confident of reasonable outcome for year

Nov 6 Reuters Pub group J D Wetherspoon said on Wednesday that measures in Britain39;s recent budget would increase its taxes and business costs by 60 million pounds 77.12 million for its current year, but it had no immediate plans to raise prices.

The British pub chain often referred to as Spoons said that likeforlike sales in the first quarter of its 20242025 financial year were 5.9 higher than the same period a year ago.

The company is confident of a reasonable outcome for the year, although forecasting is more difficult given the extent of the increased costs, Chairman Tim Martin said in a statement.

Pub groups, which were hit hard by a costofliving crisis as a result of inflation and higher interest rates in recent years, are contemplating price hikes to mitigate cost increases.

While Wetherspoons does not have any plans for price hikes yet, Martin told Reuters that he expects the hospitality industry to raise prices across the board.

Martin said that the additional costs included a 30 million pound charge related to higher national insurance contributions, which will be deducted out of annual operating profit.

Nevertheless, Martin said that the market still anticipates an increase in profits for the year.

Wetherspoon39;s lowprice consumer proposition should benefit in the event of trading down, with market share…