Some of the UK's leading pub and restaurant chains reported "marginal" sales growth for August, despite rioting and civil disorder experienced in London and other cities.

Collective like-for-like sales increased by 0.6 per cent on the same period last year, while the figures for total sales including the effect of new openings were up 3.7 per cent. The data has been published by the Coffer Peach Business Tracker, which monitors trading across 23 chains and is produced by UBS, KPMG, Coffer Group and the Peach Factory.

Peter Martin of the Peach Factory said: "This is not to diminish the devastation caused to individual businesses caught in the centre of the rioting nor the disruption caused across the wider market as sites were forced to close at the height of the trouble. "But taken overall, the eating and drinking out sector has come through surprisingly well, thanks in large part to the public who have continued to go out to eat and drink."