WETHERSPOONS fans may soon have to find a new local as yet more sites are set to close for good.
Punters could lose as many as 20 Wetherspoons drinking spots as another location prepares to shut its doors.
GettyWetherspoons is to close The Sir Norman Rae in Shipley on March 24[/caption]
The Sir Norman Rae in Market Street, Shipley, West Yorkshire, will call last orders on March 24 after finding a buyer.
It was among 11 additional pubs Wetherspoons put up for sale in September last year – a year after it initially put 32 pubs up for sale.
Reacting to the news online, one punter said: “So disappointed that this Wetherspoons is to close. It will be missed.”
Another wrote: “Another nail, in the coffin for Shipley town centre. Very sad.”
A third added: “Bang goes our regular dinner, a few pints for me and a couple of wines for the wife, on a Thursday night.”
And a fourth cried: “Shame. Good value breakfast there. Cheaper than the Bingley and Bradford ones.
“Shipley hasn’t got much left going for it anymore.”
Writing on Google reviews, one regular describe the branch as “gloriously presented”.
A Wetherspoons spokesperson said: “The final trading day for The Sir Norman Rae is March 24.
“It is a pub that Wetherspoon put on the market a while back and it has now exchanged to sell it.
“We won’t disclose who it has been sold to.
“Wetherspoon does, on occasion, sell some pubs and this is the case here.”
The pub will remain open and trading as a Wetherspoons until its closure date.
Dozens of other Wetherspoons locations remain listed for sale.
The Foot of the Walk bar in Edinburgh’s Leith is on the market following a sewer pipe bursting underneath the premises.
Plus The Sun exclusively revealed that The Quay in Poole, Dorset and The White Hart in Todmorden would be going on the market.
The chain – which has 827 pubs across the UK – warned in September 2023 it was putting dozens of its pubs up for sale.
As many as 20 pubs remain up for sale, while 15 sites are currently under offer.
This means that a buyer has presented an offer that is being considered by the seller.
It doesn’t mean that the sale is guaranteed, and it could remain open if it doesn’t complete.
The five pubs that are up for sale are:
The Pontlottyn, Abertillery
The Ivor Davies, Cardiff
The Market Cross, Holywell
The Rochester Castle, London
Foot of the Walk, Edinburgh
15 Wetherspoons branches are currently under offer:
Asparagus, Battersea, London
Wrong ‘Un, Bexleyheath
The Gate House, Doncaster
Jolly Sailor, Bristol
The Mockbeggar Hall, Moreton
The Alfred Herring, Palmers Green
The Cross Keys, Pebbles
The Sir Norman Rae, Shipley
The White Heart, Todmorden
Spa Lane Vaults, Chesterfield
Lord Arthur Lee, Fareham
The Regent, Kirkby in Ashfield
The Sir Daniel Arms, Swindon
The Hain Line, St Ives
The Quay, Poole
Thomas Drummond, Fleetwood
Wetherspoons pubs that have already closed
44 Wetherspoon pubs have already closed their doors. Here’s the full list:
The John Masefield, New Ferry
Angel, Islington
The Silkstone Inn, Barnsley
The Billiard Hall, West Bromwich
Admiral Sir Lucius Curtis, Southampton
The Colombia Press, Watford
The Malthouse, Willenhall
The John Masefield, New Ferry
Thomas Leaper, Derby
Cliftonville, Hove
Tollgate, Harringay
Last Post, Loughton
Harvest Moon, Orpington
Alexander Bain, Wick
Chapel an Gansblydhen, Bodmin
Moon on the Square, Basildon
Coal Orchard, Taunton
Running Horse, Airside Doncaster Airport
Wild Rose, Bootle
Edmund Halley, Lee Green
The Willow Grove, Southport
Postal Order, Worcester
North and South Wales Bank, Wrexham
The Sir John Stirling Maxwell, Glasgow
The Knight’s Templar, London
Christopher Creeke, Bournemouth
The Water House, Durham
The Widow Frost, Mansfield
The Worlds Inn, Romford
Hudson Bay, Forest Gate
The Saltoun Inn, Fraserburgh
The Bankers Draft, Eltham, London
The Sir John Arderne, Newark
The Capitol, Forest Hill
Moon and Bell, Loughborough
Nightjar, Ferndown
General Sir Redvers Buller, Crediton
The Rising Sun, Redditch
The Butlers Bell, Stafford
Millers Well, East Ham
Foxley Hatch, Purley
The Coronet, London
The Percy Shaw, Halifax
Resolution, Middlesborough
It comes as several UK pubs have closed their doors for good amid a turbulent economic backdrop.
Increased energy and wage costs are piling further pressure on businesses.
But, Wetherspoons continues to run sales and excite its loyal fanbase.
From March 6 punters will get the chance to sample a range of 30 different real ales including five from overseas brewers.
The festival will run for 12 days from Wednesday 6 March to Sunday 17 March.
Wetherspoons fans will get the opportunity to sample beers from Belgium, Germany, Italy, Taiwan and the USA.
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