Sir Tim Martin, chairman of JD Wetherspoon, has made a fresh plea to extend pub opening hours.

Speaking to the Daily Star, Martin urged the authorities to loosen restrictions on late night trading, citing the social value of pubs and a stagnating late-night industry.

“We open until 1am in most pubs at the weekend, but if we opened for another hour maybe that would be a good thing,” he said.

While the late night sector has slowed down in recent years, Martin believes that a strong management team can unlock its potential. 

“It’s difficult to be dissective, it works well with strong management teams in individual premises rather than a particular type of pub,” he explained. “For some reason, the late night market seems to have struggled more than the common or garden pub, which doesn’t have entertainment, but I’m not too sure why that is.”

Currently, most Wetherspoon locations open from 8am to 1am on weekends and from 8am to midnight in the week, with Martin even teasing the idea that some premises “could open all night” if restrictions were removed completely.