The boss of pub giant JD Wetherspoon has warned it could miss profit guidance after a jump in costs. It came as the firm, which has 794 managed pubs and 21 franchise sites, revealed slower sales growth over the latest quarter. Chairman and founder Tim Martin said the group is among hospitality operators to have seen “substantial increases in costs” recently. He added that this could therefore result in “profits slightly below market expectations”. Wetherspoons previously said increases in National Insurance contributions and wages would cost the business around £60 million per year. It is also facing an extra £1.6 million in tax this year through the Extended Producer Responsibility packaging levy. On Wednesday, Wetherspoons also reported that like-for-like sales grew by 3.4% in the 13 weeks to April 2026, compared with a year earlier. Like-for-like sales had risen by 4.8% over the six months to the end of January.…