Spirit lifted despite slower growth

The owner of pub chains Chef & Brewer and Fayre & Square said it ended the last three months in "good shape" despite a slowdown in food and drink sales.

Spirit Pub Company, which has around 1,350 pubs, saw like-for-like sales increase 4.6% in the 12 weeks to March 3, compared with 6.2% in the previous quarter, but said it was still on track to meet profit expectations for the year to August.