JD Wetherspoon said bad weather had affected trading more than the coronavirus outbreak as the pub chain reported rising sales in 2020.

Wetherspoon said it had received a surprisingly high number of enquiries about its trading before first-half results on 20 March.

The FTSE 250 company said in the six weeks to 8 March sales at premises open a year or more rose 3.2% and total sales were up 2.9%. The company said its outlook for the financial year was unchanged for now.

"We estimate that sales have been more adversely affected by poor weather than by the health scare," Wetherspoon said. "As of today, and the situation might change, we are not aware that any of our 43,000 staff has tested positive for COVID-19."

A string of companies have warned that the COVID-19 virus is affecting sales and the government is expected to announce stricter measures to delay the spread of the disease on Thursday. WH Smith said sales at airports were badly hit and that high street sales, though unaffected so far, could be reduced as people stay at home to avoid infection.