by The PMA Team JD Wetherspoon's junior brand, Lloyds No 1, will dominate the new opening programme in the run-up to Christmas with six out of seven new openings.
Lloyds No 1 openings are planned before Christmas in Castleford, Manchester, Loughborough, Chichester and Wor-cester, with a Liverpool unit due early in the New Year.
Fresh initiatives to differentiate Lloyds No 1's brand personality in recent weeks have included the launch of a website and a stand-alone magazine distributed across its 50 sites.
Also early next year, a new Lloyds and Wetherspoon lodge is to be opened on a site being converted from an existing JD Wetherspoon pub the fourth time an existing Wetherspoon has been turned into a Lloyds No 1.
The company is spending £2m to turn the King's Head Inn in Salisbury into a Lloyds.
The new Lloyds, which will open in February 2004, will retain the King's Head Inn name, which is the name of the original pub on the site, dating back to 1526.
A City analyst said: "The company does seem to be devoting more and more of its opening programme energy to Lloyds No 1."
Openings of JD Wetherspoon outlets in the New Year are planned for Pontypridd, Solihull, Wallasey, Wokingham, Skipton, Morecambe and Portsmouth.
Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said the absolute number of Lloyds No 1 openings, about a dozen a year, was staying constant.
l A JD Wetherspoon pub in the City of London that closes for part of the weekend is offering itself for hire.
The Knight's Templar in Chancery Lane is available for hire from 7pm on Saturday when it closes and all-day Sunday.
The pub offers itself for £75 and the fee includes bar staff to serve guests.
Manager Gary Swords said: "The pub is a wonderful building, and also close to the West End of London.