Belgian beer giant Interbrew today said annual profits had fallen more than 10% after disposing of its Carling brewery in the UK.

The London market had a robust end to the week today, after being boosted by a strong opening on Wall Street.

Belgian brewing giant Interbrew has sold Carling Brewers to US beer group Adolph Coors in a £1.2bn deal.

Interbrew plans to buy German brewer Becks for £1.1bn.