JD Wetherspoon chair Tim Martin has said that rises in NICs, the minimum wage and business rates are currently costing the pub company an additional £1.2m per week, with many businesses experiencing “anxiety” over the threat of future rises.

Speaking to ITV’s Robert Peston during his live politics programme on 23 April, Martin said “we’re coping” with the increase, but added he would be nervous if taxes rose again in the Autumn Budget.

“I would be pretty anxious,” said Martin. “Business has borne a lot of the burden and I think the cries for help from business are not artificial. It will be difficult to whack them up again.”

“Our costs are going up by £1.2m a week and it’s a hell of a lot. It is approximately equivalent to our after-tax profits before they went down during the pandemic.”

Though he assured Peston, and shareholders, that JD Wetherspoon would cope, Martin acknowledged that other operators may not be so fortunate.

“Not everyone will cope. Our prices are low, we’ve got some advantages, we have got mostly freehold pubs, our debt’s not too high. I think a lot of other people haven’t got all those things going for them and they may struggle more, they will struggle more.”