GREENE King, the Suffolk-based owner of the Belhaven pub estate in Scotland, has cited tough comparisons with last summer and a disappointing World Cup as like-for-like sales edged up 0.4 per cent in the 18 weeks to September 7.

Investors reacted coolly to the update by sending shares in the brewer and pub firm, which has more than 200 outlets in Scotland, down by more than four per cent.

Factors such as kick-off times, matches broadcast on terrestrial television, England's failure to get out the group stages and the non-participation of other home nations, meant Brazil 2014 did not translate into a spike in pub sales.

Meanwhile last summer's warm weather meant the comparatives with 2013 were tough, the company said.

Greene King, which acquired Belhaven in 2005, warned that consumers are continuing to spend carefully in spite of economic conditions improving.

That prudence has led management to be "careful not to over-invest in tactical, short-term sales building initiatives," the company told investors.

Greene King added a net additional five sites to its retail estate in the year to date, taking its total to 1,037, with the firm noting that it has a "healthy pipeline of potential new sites in place."

Pub Partners, the company's leased and tenanted division, reported net income up 3.7 per cent for the first 16 weeks of the year while volumes of its own-brewed beers were up 6.2 per cent after 18 weeks, driven by sales of Old Speckled Hen.

Shares in Greene King closed down 34p at 797.5p.