WETHERSPOON BOSS TIM MARTIN JOKES ABOUT POSSIBILITY OF ROBOTS BEHIND THE BAR AS HE IS QUIZZED ABOUT FUTURE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN PUBS

Sir Tim discussed the issue on Robert Peston's ITV show last night

Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin joked that that there are robots pulling pints in his pubs as he was quizzed about artificial intelligence.

Sir Tim discussed the issue on Robert Peston's ITV show last night.

He said 'we've got a robot Robert, in our pubs' when asked if he could envisage having machines in his venues.

Peston was briefly intrigued, asking 'which one?', before Sir Tim then revealed he was talking about his chain's self-service coffee machines.

He said they were introduced after punters wanting a pint were left waiting 'for five minutes' while hot beverages were made by bar staff.

Asked when Britons would see a robot pulling an actual pint, the pub chain boss added: 'We've got a couple of those already, but they are related to me!'

Peston, ITV's political editor, had initially asked the businessman: 'Now we're living in this age of artificial intelligence and I don't know if you've seen the extraordinary things physical robots can do now. Could you ever envisage robots in your pubs?'

It comes after figures last week showed profits at JD Wetherspoon rocketed by more than £31million in a year.

The firm reported pre-tax profits surged by almost eight-fold to £36million for the year to January - up from £4.6million the year before.

With the average price of a pint in the UK having soared to £4.80, it's thought cash-strapped Brits are now turning to Spoons for a cheaper night out, instead of their local pubs - with Wetherspoon looking to up its venues from 814 to 1,000.

Total sales at the booze chain giant hit £991miillion, a hike of 8.2 per cent.

Like-for-like sales grew by 7.4 per cent for the year, meaning they are now 15.3 per cent ahead of pre-pandemic levels.

Sir Tim pledged last week that the price of breakfasts in his venues will remain the same despite the soaring cost of food.

However, earlier this year JD Wetherspoon did announce price rises of an average of three per cent on its food and drink products amid rising costs.

In January, fans of the cheap pub chain criticised its three small plates meal deal which was once marketed for £10 - as it rose by almost twice the price in some UK sites.

One Wetherspoons customer posted a photo on X, formerly Twitter, complaining that the deal, which offers customers their pick of three dishes from a large range of items on the menu including Nachos and small pizzas, cost £17.75 at a branch in Manchester.

At other locations, such as Holborn in Central London, prices are even higher at £18.09 for three small plates.

2024-03-28T12:23:35Z dg43tfdfdgfd