Bay Restaurant Group, the owner of the La Tasca and Ha Ha Bar & Grill chains, could be sold after receiving a number of serious approaches from private equity-backed companies.
It is thought the group is undergoing a restructuring that will transfer the Slug and Lettuce chain to its sister group Town & City Pub Company, making Bay Restaurant more attractive to buyout firms.
The move is taking place after its chief executive Paul Symmonds decided to leave the company.
Symmonds is expected to seek out potential acquisitions in the leisure sector, and is already in discussions with private equity firms. It has been reported that a potential buyout bid for Bay Restaurants might be another consideration for Mr Symmonds.
Entrepreneur Robert Tchenguiz previously owned the businesses as part of his Laurel Pub Company, but was separated into two groups when it was forced into a pre-pack administration in March 2008.
Bay Restaurants, which runs 73 La Tasca tapas bars and 24 Ha Ha sites, could fetch more than £100m in a sale.
Potential new owners are thought to include Blackstone Group's Tragus restaurant enterprise, which is behind the Strada, Bella Italia and Cafe Rouge brands, amongst other suitors.
Bay Restaurant Group and Town & City have been operated by Kaupthing since March 2009, after a debt-for-equity swap took place. Mr Tchenguiz is no longer involved in either company.
