Sales at Greene King pubs grow as economy slows

Pubs are providing shelter from the storm, says Greene King boss Rooney Anand.

In times of economic strife, connecting with family and friends becomes ever more important, which makes a trip to the local one of life's essentials, he reckons.

For the half year to 16 October, the pub owner and brewer behind IPA saw sales up 9% to £527 million. Profits rose 5.6% to £77.2 million, allowing Greene King to shove up the interim divi by 6% to 6.3p, the only major listed pub company that has been able to do so.

Anand, who has been expanding in London in readiness for the Olympics, is sanguine about the wider economy.

"I'm alright until I watch the news," he says.

"I'm not an economist. I can just about work out how to sell food and drink. I can honestly tell you I don't understand it all. It does tug away at the believe that we are being led securely."

He is reassured at least that bookings for Christmas are strong. Greene King employs 20,000 people and plans to add another 1,000 to the workforce each year for the next three. Greene King is working on introducing an apprenticeship scheme.

The 212-year-old Suffolk based firm has 2,410 pubs.

Greene King shares today slipped 3.9p to 478.8p. The company is valued at just over £1 billion.