Greene King boss shrugs off Brexit and says "keep calm and go have a pint"

The boss of brewer and pubs giant Greene King on Thursday cheered higher sales and told Brits to “keep calm and go have a pint” amid political chaos.

Rooney Anand, who is stepping down next year, said his firm, which operates 2798 watering holes, is not panicking about Brexit: “It’s not all doom and gloom for consumer businesses.”

The company, which makes Old Speckled Hen beer, said it is “working closely with our supply chain partners to safeguard the continued supply of goods to our pubs and breweries, as well as the export of our beers”.

Anand added: “People going to the pub to get away from the Brexit barrage of news could be beneficial for us.”

Greene King posted a 1.9% rise in first-half revenues to over £1 billion.

The FTSE 250 firm benefited from the World Cup and hot weather, and comparable sales at pubs increased 2.7%.

Pre-tax profit rose 3% to £127.7 million.

The shares were up 25.98p to 533.58p.