The UK regional brewing force and pub operator, Greene King Plc, has said that trading in the first 12 weeks of the current fiscal year was ahead of expectations.

The producer of beer brands such as Abbot Ale, Old Speckled Hen and Greene King IPA, said that the hot weather in mid-summer had boosted sales.

Greene King said like-for-like sales in its managed pubs were up by 1.2%, a growth figure which had also been weighted to take account of the impact of the Golden Jubilee celebrations last year. Like-for-like sales in tenanted pubs rose by 3.9%.