Wetherspoon pubs are set to hike up prices in a bid to counter the impact of the government's Budget, which it predicted would send costs and taxes rocketing by £60million.

The annual rise includes an estimated 67% increase in national insurance contributions.

In a trading update, the pub chain colossus announced like-for-like sales in the first 14 weeks of the financial year were up almost 6% on the same period last year.

Bar and food sales both rose by 5.7% while slot/fruit machine takings were up 13.5%.

Only hotel room sales decreased by 2%.

Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said: "The company achieved record sales in the 14-week period and staff retention continues to be at high levels.

"Cost inflation, which had jumped to elevated levels in 2022, slowly abated in the following two years, but has now jumped substantially again following the budget.

"All hospitality businesses, we believe, plan to increase prices, as a result. Wetherspoon will, as always, make every attempt to stay as competitive as possible.

"The company is confident of a reasonable outcome for the year, although forecasting is more difficult given the extent of the increased costs."

Meanwhile, Primark boss George Weston warned the national insurance hike for employers would hit the UK high street.

The Times reports Mr Weston predicted the move would push up Primark's national insurance bill "tens of millions".

He added the threshold change would “impact high street city centre businesses more than many others, whether it’s food, whether it’s shops".

He continued: "I think it falls disproportionately on high street players. If you’re running a pub, if you’re running a restaurant, you’re probably using a lot of low-hours staff.”

In her Budget at the end of October, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the amount businesses pay on employees' national insurance contributions would rise from 13.8% to 15% from April 2025.

Additionally, she dropped the threshold at which employers start paying national insurance on workers' earnings from £9,100 to £5,000, which she described as a "difficult choice".

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