Fuller, Smith & Turner may be one of oldest Britain’s brewers but it is the food offering in its pubs that is driving growth.

Fuller, Smith & Turner ( ) may be one of Britain’s oldest brewers but it is the food offering in its pubs that is driving growth.

The London-focused group, known for its London Pride bitter, saw strong like-for-like (LFL) sales growth of 6.5% in its Managed Pubs and Hotels division in the 26 weeks to 27 September.

That growth was significantly ahead of the industry average, the group noted.

Food sales, described by the company as a key driver of growth, rose 14%.

The Tenanted Inns division, which is the one that is likely to be shook up if the bill eliminating the tied-house concept becomes law, saw LFL sales rise by 5% year-on-year.

The brewing business is doing well, as drinkers increasingly turn away from lager to traditional British drinks, with beer and cider volumes up 6% on last year, and profit up 3% to £4.1mln.

Growth has continued beyond the end of the reporting period, with the company revealing LFL sales growth of 6.8% in Managed Pubs & Hotels in the first 33 weeks of the financial year.

Half-year adjusted profit before tax rose 8% to £19.6mln from £18.1mln the year before on revenue that rose 10% to £161.6mln from £146.3mln last year.

"We have seen a positive start to the second half. The company is in robust health and we face the future with optimism and confidence,” said Simon Emeny, chief executive officer of Fuller’s.

In a nod to the recent hoo-hah over the possible ending of the tied estate, Emeny noted, “Our high quality predominantly freehold estate, passionate team and healthy balance sheet put us in an excellent position to continue to deliver good returns for the company and our investors.”

Shares were up 3.1% at 945.12p in late morning trading.