Greene King toasts strong rise in sales and profits

Pubs, restaurants and hotels business Greene King has said that its focus on offering "value for money" helped it to report a strong rise in sales.

In the half-year to 14 October its like-for-like sales, which strip out the impact of new openings, rose 4.3%.

Pre-tax profits at the company, which owns the Loch Fyne and Hungry Horse chains, increased by 7.1% to £82.7m.

The Suffolk-based business employs 22,000 people, and has more than 2,298 pubs, restaurants and hotels.

Revenues rose 7.3% to £566.2m and the firm said it had also focused on keeping a "tight control of costs".

Its chief executive Rooney Anand said: "While we continue to see a challenging environment for the UK consumer, our strategy has been tailored for these conditions - we provide our customers with 'everyday treats' and value for money."

Douglas Jack, analyst at brokers Numis Securities, said Greene King's latest results was "a good performance given that it occurred during a record wet summer".