Beer and pub company Shepherd Neame increased revenues to nearly £80 million in the first half of its financial year after taking over 13 ale houses and five restaurants.

Bosses revealed underlying operating profits grew by 7% to £7.6 million as the Spitfire and Master Brew maker sold 136,000 barrels of beer in the 26 weeks to Christmas Eve, equivalent to 39.1 million pints.

The Faversham-based firm, which is Britain’s oldest brewer established in 1698, increased turnover by 7.4% to £79.2 million in a period of “significant acquisition activity” according to chief executive Jonathan Neame.

In June it announced the takeover of eight freehold pubs from Enterprise Inns in Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

At the same time it revealed it bought five pubs in Canterbury and Faversham owned by Ultimate Entertainment Services. The two deals were worth £13.4 million combined.

Then in November, it acquired five restaurants around Maidstone and Ashford owned by Village Green Restaurants for £11.9 million.

Chairman Miles Templeman said it has been “a period of record investment” for the business, which operates 335 pubs, spending a total of £31.6 million.

While the majority of this was spent on the new acquisitions, it spent £4.2 million in “improving the look and feel” of its pubs and £1.2 million on repairs and decorations.

Pre-tax profits stood at £6.7 million, down from £8.7 million a year earlier when the figure was boosted by the sale of 10 acres of land on Brogdale Road, Faversham, in 2015.

However, Mr Templeman warned the firm, which employs around 1,500 people, will incur an £700,000 increase in costs by 2020 from the business rates review coming into effect in April.

This is on top of a £1.1 million increase in its wage bill from the national living wage and the apprenticeship levy by 2020.

Chief executive Jonathan Neame said: “I am delighted to report a strong performance and a period of significant acquisition activity.

“Our pub business has been driven by good like-for-like sales growth. It is also encouraging to note solid growth in own brand beer volume.

“We retain a cautious outlook as we are likely to be entering a period of increased cost inflation.

“However, I am confident that we have the right strategy and skills to deliver value for our shareholders for the long term.”