First Quarter Trading Update

Wetherspoon (JD) PLC
01 November 2005



                               JD WETHERSPOON PLC

                                 Press Release
1 November 2005
                          FIRST QUARTER TRADING UPDATE


Current Trading

Like-for-like sales decreased by 0.9% in the first quarter (13 weeks to 23
October 2005). Total sales increased by 0.5% to £201.5m. As a result of cost
reductions highlighted in September, margins are higher than the subdued
equivalent period a year ago.


Licensing Reform

Under new legislation covering England and Wales which comes into force on 24
November 2005, the company has successfully obtained licensing consent to open
virtually all its pubs at 9am, 7 days a week, on a fully licensed basis. We
believe that we are the only large pub company to open this early and the
majority of sales at this time are expected to comprise breakfasts, coffees and
other non-alcoholic drinks.

 The majority of our pubs will also open until 12 midnight on Sunday to
Thursday, and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. For most pubs, this is an
extension of 1 hour on weekday evenings and 2 hours on weekend evenings, in
addition to the earlier opening referred to above. Hours may vary slightly by
pub and will soon be prominently displayed on the outside of each of our pubs.

There has been considerable concern expressed about binge drinking but
Wetherspoon has a good record of responsible behaviour in this area. At the last
license renewal under the old legislation, all our 650 pubs had their licenses
confirmed with no objections received from residents, the police or other
authorities.


Property

We have opened 4 new pubs so far this financial year and expect the full years
openings to be in line with the 13 opened in the previous financial year. We
have also completed the sale of 5 pubs previously identified for disposal.


Further Progress

The company continues to seek to upgrade every area of the business, and this is
reflected in winning the 'Loo of the Year ' competition from the British Toilet
Association for the third year in a row with the best pub loos in England (the
Penderel's Oak, London), Wales (the Ernest Willows, Cardiff) and Scotland (the
Alexander Bain, Wick).

In the area of real ale, we have 109 pubs recommended in the 2006 Good Beer
Guide, more than any other company. We have also been commended by the
government for our recycling and non-discriminatory recruitment policies.


Non Smoking Pubs

We currently have 47 non-smoking pubs. Like-for-like sales for this group
declined by 7.3% in the first quarter, reflecting the tough challenge ahead for
pub companies when non-smoking legislation comes into effect. We have continued
to experience the trends reported at the time of our preliminary results in
September: food sales have increased but bar sales have shown sharp declines.

As indicated at the time of our full year results, the company will review the
performance of non-smoking pubs, and our future plans in this area at the time
of our half year results in March, when trading patterns will be more
established.


Outlook

The first quarter produced a good trading performance.  It is too early to
revise our  predictions for the full year given: the possible impact of
continuing cost pressures, trading of longer hours and the football world cup in
the final quarter of the current financial year.

We expect to announce our interim results in the early part of March 2006.


Enquiries:

John Hutson, Chief Executive                             01923 477777
Jim Clarke, Finance Director                             01923 477777
Eddie Gershon, Company Spokesman                         020 8352 5012/
                                                         07956 392234


Visit our web site at www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk



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