Groupe Flo hits out at sell-off rumours

French restaurant firm Groupe Flo has rejected reports that its cafés in the UK could be sold off. "A sale is out of the question," said managing director Jean-Paul Brayer.

His remarks follow a Sunday Telegraph article which said Groupe Flo was in talks with UK-based City Centre Restaurants about a possible £15m sale of its 12 Café Flo outlets in London.

Brayer said: "I find it quite depressing to have all this in the newspapers. I'm a little upset by this. All our teams are hard-working people; they are reading it and wondering what's been going on."

Brayer added that Groupe Flo was planning to expand in the UK. A new Café Flo is set to open in London's Covent Garden at the end of June and two more London sites are earmarked for openings early in 2001.

Groupe Flo is considering franchising the Café Flo name elsewhere in Europe, although it had not spoken to UK companies about this, Brayer said.

City Centre Restaurants said it did not comment on press or stock-market speculation.