BREWER Marston’s toasted higher profits as special offers on food boosted sales at its pubs.

The company, which owns the Pitcher & Piano and Tavern Table chains, said like-for-like sales in its pubs rose by 3.6% in the six months to March 31. That included a 3.9% rise for food.

The group said the growth in food sales was driven by volume and not price as promotions such as Two for One and its Milestone carvery proved popular with punters.

Marston’s, which operates breweries in the Midlands, the Lake District, Hampshire and Oxfordshire, revealed a 15% rise in underlying pre-tax profits to £33.5m.

Chief executive Ralph Findlay said: “We have delivered a good performance in the first half of the year against a weak consumer backdrop”.