Greene King enjoys strong festive trading despite fears over Brexit

PUB GROUP Greene King said it had enjoyed strong festive trading after customers brushed aside Brexit fears to send sales surging over Christmas and New Year.

Shares in Greene King rose 4 per cent as the Hungry Horse and Chef & Brewer owner said likefor-like sales in its managed pubs jumped 10.9 per cent in the two weeks to January 6.

It notched up another record on Christmas Day, with sales of £7.7m, up from £7.6m in 2017, as more Britons chose to eat out for their festive lunch.

The Suffolk-based firm also said it saw all sales categories achieve like-for-like sales growth over the key six-week festive period.

Greene King said the Christmas trading performance helped sales rise 3.2 per cent for the 36 weeks to January 6.

But its franchise-run pub partners saw like-for-like net profits fall around 1 per cent, while total beer sales by volume in brewing and brands were up 1.8 per cent and own-brewed sales volumes were down 2.3 per cent.

Greene King said: “While the ongoing uncertainty around Brexit may still have an impact on consumer confidence and spending during the year, we remain confident of our outlook for the financial year.”

It marks an impressive final Christmas at the pub group for boss Rooney Anand, who is stepping down at the end of April after nearly 14 years at the helm.

Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said Greene King has enjoyed a “bumper” Christmas.

He said: “The recent trend for eating out on Christmas Day seems to have continued again this year, with the public handing over £7.7m on the big day itself.”