Dutch brewing giant Heineken says key brands inherited with the takeover of Scottish & Newcastle had outperformed a weakening UK beer market.

Heineken, which completed the £7.8 billion acquisition of S&N with Danish rival Carlsberg earlier this year, said Kronenbourg 1664 and John Smith’s – gained share despite a 2.5 per cent fall in the wider domestic market.

Heineken has cut 85 jobs from S&N’s former Edinburgh corporate headquarters.

The Berkshire Brewery, based in South Reading, is due to close by 2010, with the loss of 360 jobs.