Greene King has announced record Christmas day sales of £7.7m and a 10.9% increase in like-for-like sales over the two weeks ending 6 January 2019.

The UK-based pub operator also saw a 3.2% rise in like-for-like sales in the first 36 weeks of its financial year.

Greene King’s pub partners saw a 1% dip in net profit for this period. Total beer volumes in its brewing and brands sector rose by 1.8%, while the company’s own-brewed volumes dropped by 2.3%.

Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand said: “This is another positive trading update with particularly strong pub company trading over the important Christmas and New Year period.

“Underpinned by our continued investment in value, service and quality, alongside a number of innovative festive offers, we reported record sales on Christmas Day and a strong performance from our drink-led Greene King local pubs.”

The company said that its cost mitigation programme is on course to limit net cost inflation to £10m to £20m in the year. It’s also on track to close 110 pubs and open nine new pubs in the financial year.

A company spokesperson added: “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.

“We remain focused on our strategic priorities of driving profitable sales growth, developing a more streamlined and efficient organisation, and further strengthening and improving the flexibility of our capital structure to deliver long-term value for our shareholders.”