Boss Tim Martin is buying £7m worth of Wetherspoon shares

The outspoken boss of Wetherspoons has scooped up almost £7m of shares in the chain as it launches a campaign for tax cuts in the hospitality sector.

Chief executive Tim Martin, who founded the group in 1979 and remains its biggest investor, bought almost a million shares in the FTSE 250 company for £7 each in early September.

The purchase increased his share to 24.65 percent. Martin declined to comment on the reason for the investment. The chain is preparing to cut its prices for a day on Thursday.

Bluntly: CEO Tim Martin founded the group in 1979 and remains its largest investor

On so-called “Tax Equality Day”, food and drink prices in Wetherspoons pubs will be cut by 7.5 per cent to highlight what Martin called the “huge discrepancy” between the 20 per cent VAT charged on pubs and restaurants and the zero-taxed foods are available in supermarkets.

Martin, an ardent Brexit supporter, said the hospitality sector was effectively subsidizing supermarkets and wanted the Chancellor to equalize charges to encourage people to visit pubs more often.