D&D London is set to undergo a sales process which could value the group at £100m, Sky News reports.
The owner of famous British restaurants including Coq d’Argent and Quaglino’s is preparing to enter an auction process, led by Interpath Advisory.
City sources said that Interpath had been instructed to kick off talks with potential buyers after exclusive talks with Montecito Equity Partners, a little-known investment firm, failed to result in a deal.
The group, which is led by Des Gunewardena, has been backed by private equity firm LDC since 2013, when it backed a management buy-out.
A previous iteration of the company was founded by the late Sir Terence Conran.
D&D also operates prominent London venues such as the Bluebird in Chelsea and Skylon on the South Bank.
A spokesperson declined to comment on the prospective sale process, but said current trading across its sites “is very strong”.
It trades from about 40 sites, with restaurants and bars located in Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, New York and Paris.
D&D is named after Des Gunewardena and deputy chairman David Loewi, who bought a stake in Conran Restaurants in 2006.
