Pub giant JD Wetherspoon said this could therefore result in “profits slightly below market expectations,” following a period of slower sales growth and higher expenses.

Chairman and founder Tim Martin said the company has faced “substantial increases in costs,” including higher national insurance contributions and wages, which are expected to add around £60 million to annual expenses.

Wetherspoon is also facing an additional £1.6 million tax bill this year under the Extended Producer Responsibility packaging levy.

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Mr Martin said: “The company has a strong pipeline of new pubs and planned openings include Manchester Airport, Heathrow Airport, Paddington station, Charing Cross station, and Shaftesbury Ave in central London.”

Wetherspoon opened eight new pubs during the quarter but also closed eight, keeping its total estate unchanged.

Robinhood UK lead analyst Dan Lane said Wetherspoon’s “value proposition” continued to draw customers despite broader economic pressures.

Mr Lane said: “Wetherspoon pubs are pulling their weight but it’s becoming a familiar story of costs (labour and taxes in particular) absorbing that growth.

“Sales are holding up, with the company’s value proposition still bringing in customers in a stretched consumer environment.”

Meanwhile some experts think this might impact the cost of their products.

Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, a non-advisory investment service said: “There will be worries that cheap pints might be the latest casualty of higher costs facing pubs, given JD Wetherspoon’s latest update.

“It demonstrates the extent to which the sector is grappling with mounting financial pressures despite steady demand.”

Blur guitarist Alex James, who lives on a 200‑acre dairy farm in Kingham near Chipping Norton, is no stranger to festivals.

As well as playing many with the band, he also hosts The Big Feastival on his land every August bank holiday, where he and his family run a cheese‑making operation.

This is a three‑day family‑friendly food and music festival that brings Michelin‑starred chefs, big‑name bands and tens of thousands of visitors to the site.

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Alex James at The Big Feastival. (Image: The Big Feastival)

Now, Mr James has hit out at the globally popular Glastonbury Festival, questioning the hype around the famous Worthy Farm weekender in a candid new chat with The Times.

He argued that, in his view, there are plenty of European festivals that outshine Glasto but never seem to attract the same level of adoration as the sprawling Somerset event, which covers hundreds of acres.

“You’d think it’s the only festival in the world,” he shared, describing Glastonbury as “a gory drugs bender” when set against more “underrated” gatherings such as Denmark’s Roskilde.

Singing the praises of the Danish festival, he went on: “Roskilde’s got amazing food because it’s Denmark, it’s just really civilised and the toilets are nice.

“It’s a wonderful, magical, Hans Christian Andersen fairytale of an event.”

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Glastonbury Festival. (Image: Newsquest)

Despite his sharp words, Blur have played Glastonbury’s stages on several occasions in the past few decades.

These shows over the years include an early slot on the NME Stage back in 1992 and headline performances in both 1998 and 2009.

Glastonbury drew around 210,000 people to Worthy Farm in 2024, cementing its status as one of the biggest music festivals in the world.

The event runs over five days, with the most recent edition taking place from 26 to 30 June 2024.

Although Glastonbury is usually held annually, organisers periodically schedule “fallow years” to allow the site to recover, with 2026 confirmed as the next fallow year.

The hantavirus outbreak has been reported on the Dutch-flagged passenger cruise ship MV Hondius, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde.

Health authorities are investigating the source of the virus, with some suggesting there could be a “mixture” of transmission, including close contact between passengers.

Experts said it is likely that initial infections were acquired off the ship with suspected human-to-human transmission among those with “really” close contact, such as people who have shared a cabin.

So far, eight individuals have become ill on the Dutch cruise ship, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), three of whom are confirmed as having hantavirus.

One of the confirmed cases is a British national currently receiving treatment in Johannesburg, while others remain stranded on the ship.

Three deaths have been reported in connection with the outbreak.

What is hantavirus? 

Hantavirus is a group of viruses carried by rodents such as mice and rats, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), and is transmitted by their droppings and urine.

This virus can cause a range of diseases from mild, flu-like illness to severe respiratory illness.

“There is currently no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for hantavirus infections,” the health experts added.

“Treatment is supportive and based on symptoms, such as hospital care and respiratory support.”

How do you catch hantavirus?

As rodents carry hantaviruses, human infection tends to occur in places where people and rodents coexist.

The UKHSA continued: “This is most commonly in rural, agricultural settings.

“The viruses can also sometimes be found in cleaning sheds, barns and holiday homes where rodents might have nested.”

People usually contract hantavirus by breathing in air contaminated with virus particles from rodent urine, droppings, or saliva.

It can also spread through cuts, eyes, or rodent bites.

The Government agency added: “Most hantaviruses do not spread between humans, although person-to-person transmission has happened with the Andes virus strain in rare cases.”

The hantavirus currently affecting the Dutch cruise has been confirmed as the Andes strain by the WHO.

Swiss authorities have confirmed a case of #hantavirus identified in a passenger from the MV Hondius cruise ship.

He had responded to an email from the ship’s operator informing the passengers of the health event, and presented himself to a hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, and… pic.twitter.com/4mmBd7qSA4

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 6, 2026

Hantavirus symptoms

Symptoms of hantavirus infection can include:

• Fever
• Extreme fatigue
• Muscle aches
• Stomach pain
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Shortness of breath

The UK Health Security Agency said: “In some cases, people develop severe breathing difficulties requiring hospital care.

“Symptoms usually appear between 1 to 4 weeks after being exposed to the virus, but there are reports of symptoms occurring up to 8 weeks after exposure.”

Is hantavirus in the UK?

Hantaviruses are present throughout the world, including in Europe, Africa, and Asia. 

Only one strain of hantavirus has ever been detected in the UK – Seoul hantavirus.

This variant does not transmit person-to-person.

Do you have any hantavirus symptoms? Let us know in the poll above or in the comments below.