Punch Taverns, the operator of leased and tenanted pubs, has announced a 49 per cent increase in turnover to £638m for the year to 21 August, thanks largely to the integration of the Pubmaster estate.

Pre-tax profits were up 38 per cent to £156m from £113m last year.

Compared with 2003, the existing Punch estate before the Pubmaster acquisition saw like for like turnover up 2.9 per cent and like for like profit up 3.9 per cent.

The group now operates more than 8,300 leased and tenanted pubs, having acquired 80 individual pubs over the year as well as Pubmaster. Since the year end, Punch has also acquired the 1,064-strong InnSpired pubs company. It is currently reviewing the estate and intends it to begin fully integrating it into Punch in the spring 2005.

Punch is also continuing with a £46m investment in its estate, with around 580 developments in progress and planned.

“These excellent results demonstrate a continuation of the trading momentum which characterised the first half,” said chief executive, Giles Thorley. “We have seen improvement across all major income streams and benefits from Pubmaster and our investment programme in particular.

“We continue to operate in stable market conditions with encouraging current trading and are seeing record numbers of applicants for our pubs.

“We see good opportunities for further acquisitions and property-based transactions to further enhance shareholder value.”

The company – which operates around 400 pubs in Scotland – has also said it was disappointed by yesterday’s decision by the Scottish Executive to introduce a blanket ban on smoking by April 2006.

Operations director Andrew Thompson said: “We very much support the need to reduce smoking in public places but believe each pub should be considered according to its customers and what sort of product it offers.

“We are disappointed that we have not had the opportunity in Scotland to introduce an effective form of self-regulation. Our position in England and Wales is that we don’t want a ban on smoking in public houses, but we are working towards a minimum of 50 per cent of each of our pubs being smoke-free.

“The Scottish decision only came out yesterday, so when the details are available we will be able to interpret them and implement solutions; now that the ban is happening we are fully committed to helping our retailers make it work.”