Hamilton Hall - JD Wetherspoon

Wetherspoon Pubs’ Tim Martin’s Beer Price Cut on No Deal Brexit Is Fake | Eater London

"The chain's chief executive, Tim Martin, announced plans to cut beer prices to “an unbelievable low” to mark Britain leaving the EU on 31 October 2019, but only if the country achieves a so-called clean exit without customs-union arrangements. His rationale hinges on the removal of EU tariffs on wine under a no-deal scenario, yet those tariffs (around 6.5–8p per bottle for Australian and New Zealand wines) are trivial compared with the UK’s £2.16 excise duty, and many wines (for example from Chile and parts of South Africa) already face no tariff. The post-referendum fall in sterling — which hit a 28-month low at the end of July — would have a bigger impact on import costs than lost EU tariffs. Martin has previously blamed remain voters for the chain’s weaker profits; while the company might be able to fund temporary price cuts, the savings would not genuinely stem from “freedom” from the EU and, critics argue, would be better used to improve staff pay." - James Hansen