THE boss of Wetherspoons has claimed a no-deal Brexit would be preferable to the deal secured by Boris Johnson.

Founder and chairman Tim Martin also attacked corporate governance rules and the advisers who queried spending £95,000 on Brexit-related beer mats.

Wetherspoon – whose local pubs include the Moon in the Square, the Mary Shelley and the Christopher Creeke in Bournemouth, the Lord Wimborne in Poole and the Nightjar in Ferndown –revealed like-for-like sales were up 5.3 per cent in the 13 weeks to October 27, with one pub opened and four shut.

The chain plans to open 10-15 pubs in the current financial year.

Wetherspoons has spent £43.3m buying freeholds at pubs where it was previously a tenant, and £6.4m on buying its own shares in an attempt to boost the price.

Mr Martin used the update to express his anger at new rules that say non-executives should only serve on boards for a maximum of nine years.

But Mr Martin's strongest criticism was against corporate governance advisory group Pirc, which has recommended investors vote against Wetherspoons' pay report over the company's £95,000 spend on Brexit-related beer mats, suggesting the company may have breached political spending rules.

On Brexit, Mr Martin said: "I strongly believe that the UK economy will be better off on the basis of no deal rather than the deal proposed by the government."