Little Chef, the UK roadside restaurant chain, is considering a sale of all or part of the business in an attempt to save itself from administration.

The company's auditors, KPMG, have apparently been advising on possible options, which include a sale or restructuring, and weekend reports stated that talks were ongoing with at least one potential buyer.

Catering entrepreneurs Lawrence Wosskow and Simon Heath bought Little Chef from Permira for £52m in 2005, but the company has since struggled to keep up with rental payments and losses are rumoured to be in the region of £3m per year. Competition from companies offering healthier roadside options has also affected business, despite attempts to add options such as salads and lighter breakfasts to the Little Chef menu. 

Wosskow, who owns 90 per cent of the business, suffered a heart attack in the summer, and is now keen to exit the company. Those in line to buy Wosskow's stake are thought to include Israeli property investor Arazim, who bought a number of freehold sites from Little Chef last year, and an un-named US group. 

Should the business fail to find a buyer within the next few days, PriceWaterhouseCoopers have been tipped as likely administrators.