Sir Tim Martin said that holiday spots popular with Brits such as Alicante, Benidorm and Majorca would make sense for Wetherspoons’ first pubs abroad
Brits may soon be able to down a familiarly frosty pint and thick-cut chip when on holiday.
Wetherspoons is planning to launch franchises overseas, meaning holidaymakers will no longer have to spend days or weeks without of Spoons when abroad. While no destinations are yet nailed on, the pub chain’s CEO Tim Martin gave a hint of where they’d likely pop up first. He said that holiday spots popular with Brits such as Alicante, Benidorm and Majorca would make sense for Wetherspoons’ first overseas boozer.
The pub boss told The Sun: “We are looking at it. We think there are probably 100 to 200 franchise partnerships in the UK. Now it’s a question of going abroad and it’s a possibility. There is now an opportunity for franchises abroad, but not in China.” Sir Tim said the first location would likely be announced in six months, and that winter sun destinations were also being considered.
At the moment if you want the familiar Spoons experience and you’re not in the UK, your best option is a trip to a on-the-nose knock-off, Witherspoons. Located in Pattaya, Thailand, the bar has also become popular among Brits abroad, boasting a 4.1 out of five-star rating on Google.
One customer, Gary Homan, praised the venue, saying: “Out of all the places around, this is a catch-all and does everything kind of place. A very big menu caters to all tastes and a wide range of drinks with the cheapest prices around. The waitresses are fantastic, very attentive and polite, not to mention hard working because it gets very busy.
“The food is great, not exceptional but exactly what you expect for a pub/bar atmosphere and certainly well worth the price.”
The real Wetherspoons announced earlier this month that it would open 13 new pubs in the UK this year. The pub chain will open seven more boozers before the summer, along with four more locations inside Haven Holiday Parks. Wetherspoon has already opened two new pubs this year in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, and at London Waterloo station.
The latest additions take its total openings confirmed so far for 2025 to 13 new pubs. You can find a full list of locations below. Wetherspoon currently has 796 sites in the UK. It comes after Wetherspoon revealed its latest financial update today, with its like-for-like sales up by 5.1% over the 25 weeks to January 19, compared with a year earlier.
Despite Tim Martin’s Wetherspoons accumulating over £2billion in sales for the first time last year, the chain sold a number of locations. The George, in Wanstead, and Hain Line, in St Ives, have been sold since September and have since closed their doors, according to the London Economic.
Full list of UK Wetherspoon 2025 openings
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Manchester Airport – Terminal Two
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Fulham – Fulham Broadway Station
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Bath – George Street
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Beaconsfield – Station Road
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Wetherby – High Street
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Tooley Street – London Bridge
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Fareham – Whiteley shopping centre
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Cleethorpes Beach – Lincolnshire
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Devon Cliffs – Devon
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Kent Coast – Kent
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Haggerston Castle – Northumberland
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Marlow, Buckinghamshire (already open)
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London Waterloo station (already open)
