British pub chain JD Wetherspoon is set to launch its inaugural mainland European establishment at Alicante airport in Spain.
The pub, to be named the Castell de Santa Barbera, is scheduled to open by the end of January. Situated in the departures area, it aims to offer UK holidaymakers a taste of Britain before their journey home.
Trading seven days a week from 6am to 9pm, it will offer traditional pub food, including English fry-ups and burgers, alongside popular local dishes such as garlic prawns and Spanish omelette.
Announcing the new pub, Wetherspoon founder and chairman Sir Tim Martin said: “We are very much looking forward to opening our first overseas pub.
“We believe it will be popular with people travelling home from Alicante airport.”
Sir Martin said this marks the start of Wetherspoon’s expansion overseas.
“We aim to open a number of pubs overseas in the coming months and years, including those at airports,” he said.
Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernandez Airport is becoming increasingly popular for Brits to fly into, giving them access to the Costa Blanca region on the south-eastern coast of Spain and destinations such as Benidorm.
The new Spanish Wetherspoon site will offer almost 1,000 square foot of customer space on one level, alongside an external terrace with customer seating.
It forms part of plans by the chain to open 30 new pubs in its current financial year – 15 managed pubs and 15 franchises.
Wetherspoon already operates nearly 800 pubs across the UK.
Earlier this month the chain reported growing sales but said it was cautious ahead of the upcoming Budget, with recent Government policies already sending costs soaring.
The group said like-for-like sales lifted 3.7% in the first 14 weeks of its financial year, to November 2.
This is up from growth of 3.2% in the first few weeks.
It saw bar sales rise 5.7%, food lift 0.9% and sales from slot and fruit machines jump 8.9%, but hotel room sales fell 6.3%.
Sir Tim said at the time the firm was “mindful of the Chancellor’s Budget statement later this month and, as a result, is slightly more cautious in its outlook for the remainder of the year”.
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