Lafarge chief executive Bruno Lafont says UK materials firm is not on the menu.

French cement maker Lafarge has scotched speculation that it is on the brink of buying UK rival Hanson.

In an interview in today's Financial Times, Lafarge chief executive Bruno Lafont said that a deal for Hanson "is really not the order of the day".

Hanson's share price have risen regularly in recent months over rumours that the French giant could make a bid. But Lafont said that his furm's acquisition of Blue Circle in 2001 had given it enough size.

He added: "There will probably be more industrial investment.... That doesn't necessarily mean there will [always] be fewer acquisitions than before, but for the next three years that will be the case."