Hot on the heels of the £1bn Ivy sale, the Financial Times has reported that the Hawksmoor steakhouse group is considering the possibility of a £100m sale to fund its international expansion.

Founded in 2006 by Will Beckett and Huw Gott with a single site in Spitalfields, Hawksmoor opened a branch last week in Chicago, its second in the US. UK private equity outfit Graphite Capital took a 51% holding 11 years ago, which helped the group’s expansion to its current seven venues in London and one each in Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin.

According to the FT, the founders have appointed investment bank Stephens to sound out potential buyers. The pair intend to retain their shareholding and carry on running the company.

Will told the FT: “We’ve got a great relationship with Graphite, and together we are getting to know the US investment community in more depth. As that continues, an opportunity may emerge that we wish to explore together.”

Meanwhile, the identity of the purchaser of Richard Caring’s Ivy group has yet to be revealed. Among other big-money restaurant deals of recent times, Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group was bought by US private equity giant Apollo for £701m last December.