THE French computer company Groupe Bull, which owns a 51 per cent stake in Cara computers, has reported 27 per cent increase in sales for the UK and Ireland for last year.

Its UK and Irish division Bull Information Systems (BIS), said overall sales were £332 million in 1995, while sales in Ireland increased by 46 per cent to £16.2 million. The company declined to give profit figures for its UK and Irish operation.

BIS employs 50 people at offices in Dublin and Belfast, while Cara, which was formerly owned by Aer Lingus, has about 250 staff. Cara had a turnover of £32 million last year, and had profits of about £2 million.