(Reuters) - Spirit Pub Company Plc (>> Spirit Pub Co PLC) reported a 7 percent rise in sales in the 20 weeks to January 4 due to strong trading during Christmas.

The company, which operates about 800 managed pubs and over 400 leased pubs under brands such as Chef & Brewer, Fayre & Square and Flaming Grill, said it intends to begin acquiring pubs in the second half of 2014.

Spirit Pub, which makes most of its revenue from managed pubs, said like-for-like net sales from the unit were up 4.3 percent.

A day earlier, rival Greene King Plc (>> Greene King plc) posted a 5 percent rise in underlying sales, citing record food sales on Christmas day and a surge in sales on New Year's Eve.

Spirit Pub shares closed at 84.75 pence on the London Stock Exchange on Monday.

(Reporting By Esha Vaish in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane)

Stocks treated in this article : Spirit Pub Co PLC, Greene King plc