Pub group and brewer Greene King, which owns hundreds of pubs in Scotland along with the Belhaven brewery in Dunbar, has seen like-for-like sales dip in the first quarter.
In an update ahead of its AGM today, the group which recently agreed a £2.7 billion takeover said like-for-like sales across its pubs business fell 1.8% for the 18 weeks to September 1, as it struggled to keep up with strong figures from the same period in 2018, which were buoyed by warm weather and the men's football World Cup.
However the firm said like-for-like sales in the last seven weeks grew 1.5%, which it said demonstrated an “ongoing focus on improving value, service and quality”.
In its brewing arm which is behind brands including Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen, Abbot Ale and Belhaven Best, total volumes were down 6.5% for the first 18 weeks and own-brewed volumes were down 7.9%.
Last month the group announced a deal to sell the business to CKA Group, the real estate group run by Hong Kong's richest family.
Greene King owns hundreds of pubs in Scotland including the well-known World's End and Albanach in Edinburgh's Royal Mile, the White Hart in Grassmarket and Roderick Dhu near Glasgow Central Station.
