Tim Martin opened his first pub in 1979. It was called Martin’s Free House. Within a year, he’d changed the name to JD Wetherspoon (JDW), famously after a teacher who’d told him he’d never amount to much. Perversity must pay – in 1984, Wetherspoon still had only one pub; in 2024 it has 800.
The company listed in 1992. It’s now in the FTSE 250 and is worth over £900mn, and Martin still owns a quarter of the shares.
A success story, then. His ethos is to keep the British pub tradition alive and charge low prices for good quality food. Real ale has to be kept well – in the early days, it’s said that he visited his pubs anonymously armed with a hygrometer. These days, he still visits more than 10 a week, although he’s more likely to order a bottle of Corona to check that it’s served with a slice of lime. He banned smoking before the smoking ban came in – as well as jukeboxes, televisions and dogs (except guide dogs). Screens have been allowed since, but not in every pub, and most are kept silent.