Pub chain JD Wetherspoon is using Ireland to skirt around Brexit red tape as it launches an expansion into Europe.
On Friday, Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin – who was a vocal Brexiteer and backed the Leave campaign during the 2016 EU referendum – announced the first European location for one of his pubs.
Along with an apparent change of heart towards the continent, Martin also seems to have noticed just how trickier things have become for businesses in a post-Brexit world.
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The Irish Independent reports that Wetherspoon and its proud patriot owner are using Ireland as a springboard for European expansion so they can avoid red tape caused by the UK’s departure from the EU.
A spokesman for JD Wetherspoon told the publication that the company will be using a newly established subsidiary in Dublin to launch its business in mainland Europe.
“Given our current plans for a number of franchise sites in Europe, it is more straightforward if the agreements are between EU-based companies and JD Wetherspoon Europe has been set up [in Dublin] as a result,” he said.
Martin donated hundreds of thousands to the Leave campaign, and hailed Brexit as a victory for democracy.
But with every passing day, week, month and year the damage of Brexit reveals itself even more. This was most recently highlighted by a report from the National Bureau for Economic Research (NBER) which found that leaving the EU had reduced the UK’s GDP by 8%.
The report also found that employment and productivity have also been severely hampered, with each data set estimated to have been reduced by 3-4% from previous projections within the last decade or so.
This was only weeks after the Office for National Statistics confirmed the UK’s total of post-Brexit payments to the EU was approaching the £50bn mark.
The sheer scale and cost of Brexit has been disastrous for the national economy. And yet, the UK’s promise to ‘realign’ itself with the EU has somewhat stalled.
Though a handful of new agreements have been hammered out since Labour returned to government in July 2024, nothing has particularly moved at pace. Keir Starmer has routinely quashed the idea of the UK re-joining the EU, although he and his government are openly name-checking Brexit as one of the main reason’s for the UK’s economic malaise,
Other prominent political figures are more open to rejoining the EU though.
Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who is reportedly eyeing up his own bid to challenge Sir Keir as Labour leader, has openly stated his desire to see the UK ditch Brexit. Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who is enjoying a surge in the polls, has also opened the door to a ‘rejoin’ campaign.