A summer of sport has helped pub retailer and brewer Greene King PLC (LON:GNK) to make a strong start to its latest financial year.
In the 18 weeks to 4th September, Greene King’s Pub Company division saw like for like sales growth of 1.7%, which was primarily driven by its Local Pubs estate.
The Bury St Edmunds-based firm attributed the strong trading performance to “the European Football Championships and better weather”.
The brewer has more than 1,000 tenanted and leased pubs in its Pub Partners business, which posted like for like net income growth of 4.5% during the period.
The company added that the integration of Spirit Pub Company was progressing well, although own-brewed volume at Brewing & Brands declined by 0.5% over the same period.
Despite the solid trading update, Greene King did issue a cautionary note to investors about the potential effects of Brexit.
It says although broader implications of the UK’s decision to leave the EU “remain unclear”, a number of industry surveys “have flagged risks to leisure spending.”
Greene King said it is preparing for a “tougher trading environment ahead”, but reminded investors that it had a “track record of success” in challenging periods.
Shares were up 2.1p, or 0.25% to 842.1p.