Wetherspoons in negotiations with Merchant Square about opening new city centre pub

The UK chain of pubs have been in discussions with Merchant Square since last month and representatives of the company have made several visits to the unit. Wetherspoons are pursuing the former site of the Metropolitan bar on Candleriggs. The move has not been universally welcomed by neighbouring hospitality businesses, one local pub owner I spoke to this afternoon described the news as “grim”.

Labelled the most divisive chain in the UK, particularly after founder Tim Martin’s interventions over Brexit, Wetherspoons has dominated the high street in recent years with over 800 pubs that are deeply generic. The popularity of their cheap drink and food menu, particularly in a cost of living crisis, is undeniable, yet their growth has been seen as undermining the opportunities for independent pubs and bars.

Earlier this week, Wetherspoons announced its half-year results with like-for-like sales rising by 4.8% and operating profit falling by 4.3%. The group said that labour-related costs will rise by around £60 million per annum from 1 April

Should the new pub emerge at Merchant Square, the latest location would join the established collection in the city centre of The Crystal Palace on Jamaica Street, The Counting House overlooking George Square, Hengler’s Circus on Sauchiehall Street, Sir John Moore on Argyle Street, near Central Station and The Society Room on West George Street - one of the few Wetherspoons in the UK that plays music.

This evening Merchant Square confirmed that discussions are currently taking place with Wetherspoons but offered no further comment.

In September last year, GlasgowWorld was first to confirm that Metropolitan cocktail bar and restaurant was to close with immediate effect.

Metropolitan had been part of the city centre food and drink scene for two decades, within the redeveloped site of the old Victorian Candleriggs market. The bar and restaurant included tables in a covered courtyard, two balcony areas, a private dining room and a ground floor terrace facing onto the street.

The venue had regular pre-theatre and a la carte menus for afternoon and evening dining. It catered for private events and small weddings.

The company said the closure was due to a “perfect storm of factors including the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, increasing and unsustainable rent, rates and energy costs, and the fallout from the Covid pandemic which continues to have a devastating impact on the sector.”

Metropolitan owner Kevin Maguire told me at the time: “Despite concerted efforts on our part to engage in constructive negotiation with representatives of Merchant Square, it was made clear that we had no choice but to take this difficult decision.”

Bar Soba was another long term tenant to close last year at Merchant Square, pizza restaurant Sano also opened in a different unit in the building. Irish-themed chain O’Neill’s is a long established pub at the city centre landmark.