TCR quashes bank ‘owner' sale rumour

Café and restaurant group Town Centre Restaurants (TCR) has denied reports that it is for sale.

Speculation at the weekend pointed to a £40m sale by owner HBoS bank, but TCR finance director Ron Sutcliffe said it was not the bank's business to sell. He said: "It only owns 29.9% of the company, so the story is somewhat inaccurate."

Sutcliffe said that the group was instead planning to expand its 53-strong estate of Auberge, Azzuro and Café Giardino outlets. But he conceded that financial adviser BDO Stoy Hayward might have looked at the sale option as part of a wider business review. "BDO is exploring options to raise finance for growth," he said. "If it ever looked at the possibility of a sale, it has since been discarded."

The group hopes to raise several million pounds to finance its expansion. It plans to open six Café Giardino units by the end of the year and aims to have 100 sites across the three brands within five years.

Sutcliffe noted: "We are only in about 30 of the country's 200 shopping centres so there is plenty of room for growth."

TCR turned over £27m in 2006, which comprised £18m from its 40 Café Giardino sites and £9m from its nine Auberge and four Azzuro restaurants.