JD Wetherspoon commits £5.5m to Southport expansion
The hospitality giant has triggered the addition of hotel rooms at the Sir Henry Segrave on Lord Street, with the ground floor pub also set for a refurbishment.
Sefton Council has been in negotiations with JD Wetherspoon, which has been expanding its hotel business in recent years, to get the under-utilised floors at the Pavilion Buildings into use once more. The pub group’s contractors are now on site.
Having made its first approach in 2018, Wetherspoon bought the building from the local authority in 2021, announcing plans to add 28 hotel rooms over the two floors above its pub. With JH Architects advising, plans were then lodged for 30 rooms in June 2024, with consent signed off a few months hence.
For Sefton’s part, it is keen to increase hotel space alongside major investments such as the £106m Marine Lake Events Centre, where the civils phase is now complete and main construction phase ramping up.
Sefton added that the project also adds to a wider renaissance at the southern end of Lord Street, alongside the private sector Garrick Theatre project, the conversion of the former Pumphouse and interest in the former Kingsway site.
The pub will close for refurbishment in January 2027, and reopen along with the hotel offering in June.
Cllr Marion Atkinson, Leader of Sefton Council, said: “This is another significant vote of confidence in Southport and its future, led by Sefton Council working with the private sector for the benefit of both residents and visitors.
“Our regeneration teams have worked closely with JD Wetherspoon over a long period to help unlock the potential of this important building and secure a sustainable new use for its upper floors.
“Investment of this scale demonstrates yet again how our public sector ambitions are creating private sector confidence and, vitally, bringing prominent buildings back into more productive use.
“It is particularly encouraging to see growing momentum at the southern end of Lord Street with a number of major projects helping to breathe new life into this important part of the town centre.”
Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: “We are delighted that development work has started on the hotel at The Sir Henry Segrave pub.
“The investment in the new hotel and pub refurbishment highlights the company’s commitment to the pub, its staff and customers and Southport itself.”
Wetherspoon now operates more than 50 hotels, with accommodation generally added above or next to its pubs. In 2024, it refurbished its Mile Castle pub in Newcastle’s Westgate, adding 26 hotel rooms within the adjacent Gibb Chambers to the offer.
