The Foot of the Walk, a Wetherspoon pub in Edinburgh, has closed indefinitely, leaving customers facing a locked door with a handwritten-style poster attached. The sign read: “Due to circumstances out with our control, our pub will be closed until further notice.” It remains unclear whether the closure is permanent or temporary, and the company has been approached for comment.
The sudden closure comes as Wetherspoon faces mounting financial pressures across its estate of 844 pubs in the UK and Ireland, where it employs up to 43,000 people. The chain recently placed 35 pubs up for sale, citing rising food and energy costs, and almost a dozen of those are now reported to be under offer. Each remains open as usual, with no guarantee that any sale will be completed.
Two pubs from the original disposal list have already closed: Thomas Leaper in Derby and The Colombia Press in Watford shut their doors on 5 and 6 February respectively. Wetherspoon also announced a substantial £30 million loss, while chairman Tim Martin noted that more people are now drinking at home rather than in pubs, adding to the sector's difficulties.
In a further blow to customers, the company has increased prices across a range of popular drinks and meals, adding up to 29p to a pint and 75p to food items. This marks the second price rise in a few months, which Wetherspoon attributes directly to inflation. A spokesman said: “Most businesses in the hospitality industry have had to deal with big price increases in the past year or two. We have tried to keep our prices competitive, bearing in mind that customers have suffered from inflation too.”
