Claims by the nation's big pub companies that the Government is helping to kill off the great British boozer were undermined today as the brewer of one of Britain's favourite pints revealed strong recent trading.

Marston's, which makes Pedigree, said today that, because of meal deals and the quality of its ale, the vast majority of its 2200 pubs are doing better now than this time last year.

In its 500 biggest managed pubs which include the Pitcher & Piano chain and City favourites like the Rack & Tenter in Moorgate, like-for-like trading over the last two months is up 3.1%. In the last quarter of 2008 and the opening weeks of this year sales were falling 2.9%.

Marston's chief executive Ralph Findlay said 80% of its 1700 leased and tenanted houses are trading similarly well but a woeful performance by the smallest, "wet-led" or beer-based 350 pubs dragged profits in the non-managed estate down by 6%. Many of these are set to be sold and probably closed as pubs.

"This is a strong performance based on a good value for money food offering where customers can get two meals for £10 seven days a week and drink interesting regional ales," said Findlay who has masterminded the metamorphosis of the old Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries after a series of acquisitions of provincial brewers and pubcos, including the Ringwood brewery in Hampshire and Wychwood, brewer of Brakspear and Hobgoblin.

"We have been careful about pricing and have not been passing on price increases to tenants."

Underlying beer sales are down around 2.5%.

The return of pub-goers who are attracted by decent-value beer and food appears to contradict the increasingly vitriolic charges by the British Pub and Beer Association that the Treasury's tax rises and the Department of Business's regulatory changes are strangling the trade.

"This is about how the Government must respond to the plight of small businesses in a recession and pubs are small businesses," said Findlay.