Wetherspoon to open first overseas pub with Alicante site

J D Wetherspoon is set to open its first pub outside of the UK, with a new site at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernandez Airport in Spain.

The pub, which will be named Castell de Santa Bàrbera, is set to open at the end of January 2026.

It will be located in the airside area of departures, and will be open seven days a week from 6am to 9pm.

Wetherspoon said it will offer almost 1,000 square ft of customer space on one level, alongside an external terrace with customer seating.

Food will be served at all times up to an hour before closing. The menu will include many meals available in Wetherspoon pubs in the UK, including breakfast dishes, burgers and pizzas, as well as local dishes such as garlic prawns and Spanish omelette.

Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin said: “We are very much looking forward to opening our first overseas pub. We believe it will be popular with people travelling home from Alicante Airport.

“We aim to open a number of pubs overseas in the coming months and years, including those at airports.”

Earlier this month, the pub chain reported a 3.7% increase in like-for-like sales for the 14-week period ended 2 November, as total sales rose 4.2% compared with the same period last year. 

The company said it continued to outperform industry averages, citing the CGA RSM Hospitality Business Tracker, which reported a 0.2% rise in like-for-like sales across the sector in September, compared with 3.4% growth for Wetherspoon. The pub operator has now exceeded the tracker’s performance for 37 consecutive months.