JD Wetherspoon has urged the government to allow pubs to compete on the same level as that of supermarkets by subjecting them to the same tax rates as that of the pubs, as it posted rising sales but falling profit for the first half owing to heavy tax bill. The group which owns 800 pubs across the UK reported that it paid a total of £273.5m in taxes in the…

JD Wetherspoon is all set to create 1,200 jobs in 2013 in an investment worth more than £35m, which would see 30 new pubs which would be opened across cities in the UK, including areas such as Cardiff, Fort William, Selby, Whitby, New Brighton and Fraserburgh. The additions will add to JD Wetherspoon’s current total of 866 pubs and bars.

Britain’s biggest budget hotel operators Travelodge has decided to disown 49 of its hotels and write off £700 million of its debts under a controversial rescue deal. Travelodge, which owns more than 500 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain, defended the deals saying that the deals help the company secure its long-term future and relieve its crippling debt burden. The hotel management company wants the landlords of 49 hotels…

Domino’s Pizza Group reported like-for-like sales growth in 662 mature stores of 5.2% in the first half, despite the ongoing economic downturn, where number of sectors have been hit by the rainy weather. Britain’s largest pizza delivery company on Monday saw its pre-tax profit rising to £21.5 million in the six months to June 24, from £19 million the year before. The rise in pre-tax profits was attributed to the…

British pub chain JD Wetherpoon has announced a boost in its sales owing to Queen’s Jubilee fortnight and Euro 2012 events, and is now banking on the London 2012 Olympics to give its outlets a further lift. The pub group reported like-for-like sales rose 6.1% in the 11 weeks to July 8, compared to a 2% rise in the previous quarter. “Our sales have been growing at about 2% over…