The founder of JD Wetherspoon has sold almost £10m worth of shares in the pub chain.
Tim Martin, who is also the chair of the hospitality company, sold 1.361m shares in the business on 26 July, according to a London Stock Exchange announcement. Shares in the business dropped in early trading on Monday as a result, 0.9% lower at 743p.
He has sold the shares at a price of about 739p a share, securing Martin £9.58m. The sale has reduced his stake in the company from 25.68% to 24.58%, or 30.38 m shares. The company did not disclose a specific reason for the sale.
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Martin founded the pub firm in 1979 and has since grown the business to 801 sites across the UK, with it also employing 43,000 staff.
Earlier in July, JD Wetherspoon revealed another recent improvement in sales as it continued selling off some venues. The company reported that like-for-like sales increased by 5.8% in the 10 weeks to 7 July, despite unseasonably wet weather.
In the year to the start of July, JD Wetherspoon opened two pubs but sold or surrendered the lease on 26 premises. It also had a further 10 trading pubs either on the market or under offer.