The Sir Norman Rae in Shipley will close on Sunday

JD Wetherspoon's The Sir Norman Rae, on Market Square in Shipley, will shut for good on Sunday.

The pub chain announced it was getting rid of 11 boozers around the UK - including The Sir Norman Rae - in September last year.

Staff at The Sir Norman Rae ahead of closing day (Image: Newsquest/Mike Simmonds)

Liam Singh, manager of The Sir Norman Rae - which has been part of Shipley for 22 years - said it was an emotional time.

He told the Telegraph & Argus: "A lot of our customers are sad it's closing - it's the end of an era.

"They've been asking what other Wetherspoon pubs they can go to and they've also shown a lot of care to the staff - asking about their plans for the future and things like that.

"A lot of people love coming here and the staff enjoy looking after them.

"It is a shame the pub is closing - it's been such a long-standing part of the Shipley community for so long."

Workers have been offered roles at other Wetherspoon pubs, Liam said.

Some of the final drinks to be had at The Sir Norman Rae (Image: Newsquest/Mike Simmonds)

He added: "Despite the closure, the staff have been amazing and haven't lost motivation - they all deserve a massive pat on the back."

He said he felt like the pub was ending on a high.

"This month we did an ale festival - we smashed records and did 3,700 pints over 10 days," he added.

"We were 15th best in the company.

"It was definitely one good way of saying goodbye ahead of the closure.

"Since people found out we're closing, we've been really busy - we did record sales last week.

"We've hit new highs recently."

Liam said he was planning on "putting on a bit of a do" at the pub on Sunday.

He added: "I'd like to say a huge thank you to all the customers and all the staff who've been a big part of this pub and this community over all these years, and I wish them all the best for the future.

"It's been a blast.

It's the end of an era for Shipley

"It's a shame this great place is closing but we've got to keep on moving.

"I also want to get across the important message that people need to use their pubs - or they could lose them."

It has not yet been publicly revealed what will happen to the prominent building after The Sir Norman Rae shuts its doors for good.

Profits surge at JD Wetherspoon

The upcoming closure of The Sir Norman Rae comes as JD Wetherspoon revealed a jump in profits for the past year as it witnessed higher customer demand in the face of cost of living pressures.

Founder and chairman Tim Martin said it has seen sales "continue to improve" into the new financial year.

The company told shareholders on Friday morning that pre-tax profits surged by almost eight-fold to £36million for the year to January, compared with £4.6m a year earlier.

Wetherspoons benefited from a continued improvement in demand and easing cost inflation.

Like-for-like sales grew by 7.4 per cent for the year, with this now 15.3 per cent ahead of pre-pandemic levels from 2019.

The company recorded revenues of £991m for the year to January, up from £916m a year earlier.

Mr Martin said it has seen like-for-like sales grow 5.8 per cent so far in February and March as it continued to witness an improvement in demand from customers.

"The company currently anticipates a reasonable outcome for the financial year, subject to our future sales performance," Mr Martin added.

It came as the pub group also confirmed it has trimmed the size of its pub estate further.

Wetherspoons said it now has 814 pubs after selling five pubs, terminating the lease of another five and subletting another three sites.

The company said: "In the last decade, there has been a reduction in the number of trading Wetherspoon pubs, which peaked at 955 in December 2015.

"In spite of a reduction in the overall number of pubs, sales have continued to increase - total sales are now about one third higher than in 2015."

However, Wetherspoons stressed that it still believes it has the "potential" to reach 1,000 sites across the UK.