Top 50 Most influential people in the pub industry

Now in its 9th year — The Morning Advertiser ranks the trade's movers and shakers on the impact they've had on the industry in the past 12 months — and how they're likely to affect it in the year ahead.

1. Tim Martin, chairman, JD Wetherspoon (1)​

Why he is on the list:​ The mercurial Tim Martin retains his number-one spot in this year's Top 50 listings. The charismatic JDW chairman continues to be the pub industry's best-known personality and a man the press and media invariably turn to for a good headline or quirky trade comment.

Whatever people think about his views, which can appear out of step with the industry, he remains an impressive ambassador for an industry. Many of the sacred cows he leads to slaughter turn out to have been ready for the knacker's yard in retrospect. Above all else, he's the best pub retailer of his generation as proven by the company's steady expansion over the years.

What the past year has held:​ Wetherspoon stepped up its rate of new pub openings as the recession took the air out of property prices and rents. With a target now of 50 new sites a year, the company took one more bold retail step — a frontal assault on the breakfast market with 7am opening across the estate. With a slump in property values and an abundance of sites now on the market, JDW has been able to drive a hard bargain on rents, often achieving reductions of up to 40% on some properties it took over.

Challenges ahead:​ The target of 1,500 pubs is now firmly back on the agenda. New sites in secondary towns, second-siting other towns and cities and openings in smaller towns will provide the in-fill required to double the estate.

It's not inconceivable that Wetherspoon could become the UK's biggest foodservice brand if the company's acceleration rate goes ahead as planned. Martin has been consistent in his criticism of over-bearing and counter-productive regulatory action on binge drinking — will the new Government listen?

Top 50 most influential people in the pub industry​

1. Tim Martin, chairman, JD Wetherspoon​

2. Neil Robertson, chief executive, BII​

3. David Cameron and George Osborne​

4. Ted Tuppen, chief executive, Enterprise Inns​

5. Giles Thorley and Roger Whiteside, Punch Taverns​

6. John Lovering and Adam Fowle, Mitchells & Butlers​

7. Ralph Findlay, chief executive, Marston's​

8. Rooney Anand, chief executive, Greene King​

9. John Hutson, chief executive, JD Wetherspoon​

10. Peter Luff, chairman Business Innovation and Skills Committee​

• Download the complete Top 50 here​.