Greene King toasted record festive food sales today after taking nearly £2 million on Christmas Day meals.

The company, which operates 2,400 pubs, restaurants and hotels, sold 365,000 Christmas meals in December - its highest ever number - after many outlets put on special menus for the festive period.

Its sites, which include the Hungry Horse, Old English Inns and Loch Fyne Restaurant brands, took £1.7 million in food sales on Christmas Day as more people ate out on the big day, which was also a record. The figure was boosted after it opened 800 pubs on Christmas Day.

Like-for-like food sales at Greene King’s 950-strong retail division were up 17% in the week before Christmas, driving another improvement in its performance.

Chief executive Rooney Anand said: ``It is clear that even in these difficult times customers still look for enjoyment and some respite from the financial pressures they are facing.

"Across the UK, the pub becomes the heart of the community during Christmas."

The strong food sales helped retail like-for-like sales increase 8.2% in the seven weeks to January 15, up from 4.4% in the previous six weeks.

However, the figures were flattered by weaker comparisons from the previous year when the Arctic blast kept customers at home.

Food now accounts for about 40% of retail sales, reflecting a nationwide trend that has seen pubs serve more meals to compensate for falling demand for beer in the wake of the smoking ban.

The group said its recent acquisitions - Capital Pub Company in London, Cloverleaf Restaurants and Realpubs - all "traded very well over Christmas".

The turnaround at its tenanted and leased division had continued, with growth in average underlying profits per pub.

And its brewery division, which makes Belhaven Best, Greene King IPA, Abbot Ale and Old Speckled Hen, saw own-brewed volumes rise 7.4% in the past seven weeks, bucking the recent overall trend of falling beer sales across the UK.

Richard Taylor, an analyst at Barclays Capital, said: "This may seem a resilient performance in the context of some mixed trading statements from consumer facing companies, but Greene King has now consistently reported good like-for-like sales growth in its retail business for almost three years."

He added that the group’s annual food sales of about £300 million, gave it only a tiny fraction of the £40 billion eating out market, leaving plenty of scope for further growth. He expects Greene King’s strong momentum to continue into its next financial year.