Wetherspoons is set to open a massive new venue in a major UK city centre. The pub chain has been busy with its ambitious expansion, which includes its first venue outside of the UK.

JD Wetherspoons opened its first-ever European boozer at Alicante Airport in Spain on February 9. Plus, there are eight bars set to open between now and July 2026, with the first confirmed being another venue in Bath, Somerset, on March 3.

Now Wetherspoons has told hospitality publication Propel that it plans to invest £2.5m on opening a new pub in London's West End. The new venue would have a capacity for more than 300 punters.

Wetherspoons' opening on Shaftsbury Avenue is dependent on Westminster Council approving the plans. If it were to open, it would be located near a slew of West End theatres and other popular tourist attractions in London.

It would open on the former Coyote Ugly site in Shaftesbury Avenue if the application is approved. The former bar on the site closed last summer, and the unit has remained closed ever since. A new Wetherspoons in the area would be an attractive addition for Londoners, who are used to paying high prices for pints of beer in the city's centre.

When Cayote Ugly first opened at the site, it boasted two floors and 5,000 square feet of space, as well as capacity for 350 guests. No opening date has been announced, as Wetherspoons has not revealed if its application has been approved.

According to Propel's report, the budget pub chain is set to spend £2.5 million on the opening. Wetherspoons opened two new central London pubs last year, and continues to open new pubs around the country.

The chain promises that all of these have a unique design that reflects the local history, although they all have similar menus of food and drinks. Most recently, it opened pubs in Beaconsfield, Wetherby, Bristol, Newcastle, Cramlington and Basildon.

While its Shaftsbury Avenue opening is yet to get final confirmation, several new Wetherspoons pubs are opening in the next few weeks and months. The upcoming opening dates and venues are:

The Daily Express has contacted JD Wetherspoons for a comment.

The chain is also planning a new pub at Paddington Station, pending approval. It reportedly features 3,600 square feet across two floors, including a mezzanine with direct access to the Bakerloo line.

This comes despite Weatherspoons' warning about rising business costs. The chain's boss Sir Tim Martin warned that Rachel Reeves' tax hikes will exacerbate inflation and hit businesses like his.

He warned that inflation was "umbilically linked to cost increases" and tax increases "always result in price increases for consumers". However, the company's sales in the financial year 2025 increased by 17% compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, amassing £2.1 billion.

But its profits and earnings were still below pre-pandemic levels. Sir Tim said that his company would "endeavour to keep price increases to a minimum". He told The Telegraph: "Individual companies might try and keep prices the same, but these decisions are only a temporary respite."