JDW announces new Heathrow Airport site

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New venue: JDW second Heathrow Airport site to open in October (Pictured: JDW chairman Tim Martin)

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) has confirmed the opening date of a new pub at Heathrow Airport.

The Star Light will open on Monday 2 October on the site of the former Carluccio’s in Terminal 4 (airside), following a £500k investment from the pubco.

It will be the company’s second trading unit at Heathrow Airport and its eighth airport unit in the UK.

Proud association 

With seating for approximately 140 customers, the new venue will create up to 60 full and part-time jobs and will be open from before the first flight until after the last flight each day.

The pub takes its name from the first civil aircraft to land at Heathrow, named Star Light, towards the end of World War II after land in and around the site was requisitioned for the international airport.

Wetherspoon chief executive John Hutson said: “We are looking forward to opening The Star Light.

“We have operated units at Heathrow Airport since 1991 and are proud of our association with one of the world’s largest airports.”

Continued improvement 

This comes as JDW last week issued corrections to several “factual errors” in an article posted on the Mail Online on Tuesday 15 August regarding its menu prices.

Moreover, the pubco accused the Daily Mail of “hyperbole and exaggeration” earlier this month, claiming the newspaper had made a “number of mistakes” about the firms pub disposals.

In its latest trading update, published in July, JDW announced like-for-like sales for the first quarter of its financial year had risen by 11% versus the same period pre-Covid.

Regarding the trading update, JDW chairman Tim Martin said: “As a result of a continued improvement in sales and a slightly reduced expectation for cost increases, for example, energy costs, the company anticipates an improved outcome for the next financial year, and anticipates an outcome for the first half of FY24 approximately in line with the second half of FY23.”