Pub dining boom helps cheer Greene King

Belhaven-owner Greene King has shrugged off the consumer gloom after its push into pub dining helped it report another round of healthy food sales figures.

The brewing and pubs business, whose brands include Hungry Horse, Old English Inns and Loch Fyne Restaurants, said like-for-like sales in its retail division rose 4.3 per cent in the ten weeks to Sunday, driven by a 4.7 per cent rise in food.

While the company warned that the outlook remained uncertain, it said the expansion of its retail division – the largest part of the group – following the recent acquisitions of the Cloverleaf and Realpubs chains should help it deliver further growth.

Investec Securities said yesterday’s brief trading update was in line with expectations, although the broker is forecasting a slight drop in full-year profits to £136.1 million.

Analyst Paul Leyland said “We see Greene King as a well-run operator capable of continued investment and market share growth.”

Greene King said sales volumes of its core beer brands, which include Belhaven Best, were up 5 per cent in the last ten weeks, compared to an 8 per cent fall in the UK real ale market in the last quarter.

SCOTT REID