Chair of JD Wetherspoon, Tim Martin, has announced he is to take a six-month, unpaid sabbatical – starting today.

He plans to spend some of the time fulfilling a long-held ambition to travel.

Martin will be non-executive chair during his absence and his executive duties will be taken on by managing director, John Hutson; commercial director, Suzanne Baker and finance director, Jim Clarke.

Before leaving, he said: “The executive directors and senior managers at Wetherspoon are extremely experienced, having worked for the company for many years. I am confident they will manage the business very well in my absence and I look forward to finding the company in even better shape when I return in six months.

Elsewhere, Wetherspoon has launched an online wine ordering service called: Our house, your home.

Wetherspoon’s head of marketing, Clare Martin, said: “Our pubs sell a combined total of 3.5 million bottles of Californian Fetzer Coldwater Creek red and white wines a year and we receive numerous requests from customers asking where they can buy the wine outside of Wetherspoon pubs, so it seemed a logical step to sell the wine direct to them.

“We are confident this innovative approach will prove popular and the range of wines for sale may be extended in the future.”

The wines, which are on sale at all Wetherspoon pubs and Lloyds No. 1 Bars, are not available in off-licences or supermarkets and will be sold on www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/buywine in cases of 12 bottles.