Pandemic hit UK pubs group Wetherspoons seeks to raise cash again

(Reuters) - British pubs group JD Wetherspoon plans to raise up to $128 million in its second cash call from investors since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the government's latest order to close hospitality venues hammers its finances.

While mass vaccination started across Britain towards the end of 2020, stay-at-home orders since Christmas - which followed some local curbs in the run-up to the holidays - crushed any hopes of a quick rebound in the sector.

Budget-focussed Wetherspoons, which said it was burning through around 4.1 million pounds per week in the lockdown, said it planned to raise 92.1 million-93.7 million pounds ($125.4 million-$127.6 million) in a sale of new shares.

It plans to place 8.4 million shares at between 11 pounds and 11.20 pounds apiece, a discount to Tuesday's close of 11.8 pounds.

The placing is not being underwritten, the company said in a statement after markets closed.

"The COVID-19 outbreak is having a severe impact on the UK pub sector. After a number of false starts, the hospitality industry generally anticipates a return to more normal trading patterns in the spring and summer," Chairman Tim Martin said.

He has been an outspoken critic of the government's handling of the crisis and, like his counterparts at rivals including Mitchells & Butlers and Marston's, has called for greater support for the beaten-down sector.

Wetherspoons raised 141 million pounds in April last year during Britain's first national lockdown.

($1 = 0.7343 pounds)

(Reporting by Shanima A and Muvija M in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Blair and Mark Potter)