Summer of sport and celebration to boost Wetherspoon PUBS chain JD Wetherspoon benefited from the summer bonanza of top European football and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, according to analysts. The group, with more than 600 pubs, including nearly 60 in Scotland, is expected to say this week that the Jubilee celebrations boosted trading in its fourth quarter, during which its like-for-like sales jumped by more than 6 per cent. Wetherspoon will also say that the popularity of the Euro 2012 football championships brought more punters into its pubs. Analyst James Hollins, at broker Investec, said he expected the company to have seen "a surge in trading during the weeks of the Jubilee and Euro 2012." In our view, the 6.1 per cent Q4 [sales] growth demonstrates the resilience of the group's core customer base, as well as the attraction of Wetherspoon's units to both returning and new customers during major events. Despite Wetherspoon also likely to have benefited from the Olympics and Paralympics since the financial year-end, chief executive John Hutson is set to warn that it faces continued consumer pressure, high taxes and cost input inflation. The City believes Wetherspoon's profit margins will have eased about 1.5 per cent to 8.1 per cent as a result. Investec has forecast a rise in the group's profit before tax to £70.6 million from £67.6m, although this partly reflects a 53-week financial year compared with 52 weeks the previous year. One analyst commented: "In an austerity climate, Wetherspoon has clear advantages in being among the lowest-priced beer operators on the block for consumers. That would help its underlying performance anyway. Special events like the Euro football championships and the Jubilee were some icing on the cake. It is thought Tim Martin, Wetherspoon's founder chairman, may also re-enter the public debate about problems in the Eurozone, of which he is a long-term opponent.