Punch Pubs & Co has reported higher third-quarter revenue and profit, with the FIFA World Cup helping to drive a sharp increase in sales across its estate.

Revenue increased 9.1 percent year-on-year to £274.7m in Q3, while underlying EBITDA rose 6.6 percent to £75.9m. The company also acquired 50 pubs during the year to date as it continued to invest in expanding its estate.

Trading momentum has carried into the fourth quarter, with England’s progress to the World Cup semi-finals providing a significant boost to pub trade. Like-for-like sales across Punch’s Pub Partnerships estate increased 59 percent during the seven England matchdays through to the semi-finals, highlighting the impact of the tournament on trading.

“We are pleased to deliver another quarter of revenue and profit growth, reflecting the strength of our differentiated model and the hard work of our Publicans, who continue to drive strong performance across the estate,” commented chief executive Andy Spencer.

He also welcomed the Government’s recently announced business rates cut for pubs in England, describing it as “a positive and much-needed step forward”.

However, Spencer added that “there is still more to do”, calling for “a broader package of support” to give operators confidence to invest further and create more long-term jobs.