Belhaven owner Greene King toasts '˜strong' sales growth

Brewer and pubs group Greene King today said it was confident about its full-year prospects as it reported rising sales.

Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand cheered record Christmas Day sales

The firm, which last year sealed a £774 million takeover of rival Spirit Pub Company, said like-for-like sales across its estate grew 2.2 per cent in the 40 weeks to 7 February compared with the same period a year earlier – with takings up by 5 per cent over the two Christmas weeks.

Greene King, which brews ales such as Belhaven Best and Old Speckled Hen and now has more than 3,000 outlets, said it enjoyed record sales of £6.8m on Christmas Day, driven by its food offerings.

“Over the Christmas and New Year weeks, Prosecco volumes were up 69 per cent while premium gin grew 77 per cent, and at New Year a record 4,447 drinks per minute were sold in the last hour of 2015,” the group said.

Chief executive Rooney Anand said: “This was another strong performance, with all divisions trading well during the important festive period, and record trading on Christmas Day.

“Overall, our expectations for the full year are unchanged. Despite the current global economic uncertainty, we remain confident that we will deliver further value to our guests and shareholders by continuing to develop and enhance the existing Greene King business while successfully integrating Spirit.”