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The UK's largest pub and bar operator, Punch Taverns, has announced it is "trading well in a quiet market."

In the company's annual general meeting, scheduled for this afternoon, chief executive Giles Thorley will report that in the first 20 weeks of the financial year, the acquisition of 125 pubs and selling of 56 took the overall estate to 9,325 pubs.

Mr Thorley also commented on the growth of the company, saying: "In the leased estate, like-for-like turnover growth continues at around one per cent with an increasing component from rent. In the core managed estate, like-for-like sales growth has been around five per cent, with a growing emphasis on food."

Ahead of the July ban on smoking in all public places, Mr Thorley said: "We continue to invest in pub amenities and customer service to ensure our pubs are ready when the smoking ban is introduced in England and Wales later this year."

Based in Burton-upon-Trent in Staffordshire, Punch Taverns' profit before tax in 2006 was up 48 per cent from the previous year to £281 million.

Shares in the company rose by 2.08 per cent on early morning trading.