Pub chain JD Wetherspoon toasted a "terrific" festive period during which it served drinks on Christmas Day for the first time.

Half of the group's 466 outlets were open on December 25 and contributed to total sales of £49.7 million for the five weeks to New Year's Eve, up 31 per cent on the same period last year.

Like-for-like sales, which strip out the effect of new pub openings, increased by ten per cent.

Chairman Tim Martin was delighted with the performance. "We enjoyed a terrific Christmas period, particularly in the four weeks to December 24," he said.

He believed opening Wetherspoon pubs for three hours on Christmas Day had been an act of "good will" in more suburban locations rather than helping to provide a significant sales push.

The seasonal boost helped push sales for the 22 weeks to December 31 to £194.1 million, 31 per cent ahead on the same period last year.

Like-for-like sales increased by seven per cent.

Mr Martin said the figures were a further endorsement of the chain's strategy towards creating pubs with individual identities. "Christmas was a continuation of what we are achieving in the long term."

Separately, figures from nightclub group Luminar showed revellers partied hard in the run-up to Christmas.

The company, which runs about 250 bars and clubs in the UK, said Christmas trading had been "highly satisfactory", with group turnover jumping 260 per cent in December against the same period last year.

Luminar's portfolio includes the Chicago Rock Cafe chain of themed restaurants, as well as a number of nightclubs and late-night pubs, recently boosted by its takeover of Northern Leisure and acquisition of sites from Allied Leisure.