JD Wetherspoon PLC (LON:JDW) has confirmed it will reopen its pubs in England on July 4 following Tuesday’s announcement on relaxed lockdown measures by the government.
The pub chain has drawn up a safety plan, following a consultation with employees, which was announced last month.
READ: Wetherspoons to spend £11mln readying pubs for re-opening
It also announced the approval of a new £48mln loan for companies hit by the pandemic backed by the government.
The FTSE 250 group added it does not currently intend to start any new development projects in the next year, though a small number of projects that were ongoing when closures were implemented will be completed.
"It appears the group wants to play the wait and see game," commented David Madden, analyst at CMC Markets.
"It is possible that many of its smaller competitors will suffer more as a result of the pandemic, so Wetherspoon might be going on the acquisition trail this time next year."
Shares dipped 2% to 1,107p early on Wednesday.
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