A £2 million bill to repair 150 flooded pubs will hit profits at brewing group Marston's, it has warned. The harsh weather during June and July will lead to full-year profits below analyst expectations of £100 million.

The company also said it is under pressure from rising interest rates after seeing a 1% increase in the cost of its £500 million banking facilities. It has moved to fix borrowing costs.

Despite the summer trading problems, like-for-like sales at its 550 managed pubs were 4.6% up on the year. Around a third of revenue now comes from food, reflecting a 13% growth in non-drink sales. Its fleet of 1,722 tenanted pubs turned in a 3% rise in profit.

More drinkers are shunning mainstream lagers and moving to cask ales. Marston's saw a 6% increase in sales volumes of its flagship Pedigree beer, while sales of Jennings Cumberland Ale soared 30%.

Smoking bans introduced in Wales and England in April and July had so far had 'no discernible impact' on trading, said Marston's, although it adopts a more cautious approach for the coming months. The industry is concerned that as the colder weather eases in, smokers will no longer want to go outside to light up, potentially putting them off going to pubs altogether.