JD Wetherspoon is ready to leave the EU without a transition deal and the idea that firms are facing a dangerous “cliff edge” is overblown and untrue, according to the pub chain’s chairman.
Tim Martin said warnings from companies such as Sainsbury’s and Whitbread about the risks of a “no deal” Brexit were “factually incorrect and highly misleading”.
“The misinformation from directors and trade organisations seems to be designed to support the view that staying in the EU for an additional two years is necessary to avoid a ‘cliff edge’,” Martin said.
“There is no cliff edge. Wetherspoon is ready now to leave the EU, since almost no preparation is required – as is almost certainly the case for Sainsbury’s and Whitbread, and the vast majority of companies,” he added.
Martin, a vocal Brexit supporter in the run-up to the EU referendum said it was false to claim that no deal would result in higher food and drink prices. He said it would actually knock 3.5p off the price of a Wetherspoon meal, and 0.5p off a pint.
“The lowest food prices can be obtained by the UK, without the need for the agreement or consent of any third party, by avoiding a ‘transitional deal’ – which would keep EU tariffs in place – and leaving the EU in March 2019,” Martin said.
“This would enable the UK to scrap EU food tariffs, as permitted under World Trade Organisation rules, on food imported from outside the EU. Under WTO rules, tariffs would not then be charged on imports from the EU either.”
Last week the National Institute Economic Review warned that UK shopping bills would rise sharply if Britain walks away from Brexit talks without a trade deal.
It predicted that the cost of European imports would jump if the UK fell back on World Trade Organisation rules.
Martin made the comments as Wetherspoon reported a 6.1% increase in like-for-like sales – stripping out sales at pubs opened in the last year – for the first quarter. Total sales for the 13 weeks to 29 October were up 4.3%.
Martin said the company had had a positive start to the year, but warned that costs had been significantly higher than last year, with further increases expected in areas including labour, business rates, utilities and sugar taxes.
Mark Brumby, an analyst at Langton Capital, said: “The group is a superlative operator and, with Mr Martin’s views on Brexit well known, the company is likely to continue to pull out all the stops to show that Brexit and the uncertainty that surrounds it will not prevent it from reporting good numbers.”
Wall Street banks do not share Martin’s relaxed view about Brexit, though. According to the Financial Times, they told the US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross that jobs will soon start to shift out of the City, unless there is more clarity about Britain’s future.
