Steakhouse chain Hawksmoor goes up for sale

Hawksmoor is working with American financial services firm Stephens on any potential sale, according to a report in the ­Financial Times.

The restaurant chain was founded in 2006 by childhood friends Will Beckett and Huw Gott, with the first steakhouse opening in London. It now has seven restaurants in the city.

There are other locations operating in Edinburgh, Liverpool and Manchester, as well as a restaurant in New York. A Chicago branch opened last week.

Mr Beckett and Mr Gott are expected to stay on to run the operations of the company following any potential sale.

They would also retain their current minority holdings in the business.

UK private equity fund Graphite Capital has owned 51pc of the Hawksmoor business since 2013.

Hawksmoor did not comment directly on speculation surrounding a sale, according to reports. However, Mr Beckett, who is chief executive of the business, said the company had a “great relationship” with Graphite.

“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,” he said in a statement.

Earlier this year he also told the Sunday Times that the high-end chain was looking to expand further in the US market.

In an interview, he said the group would be “probably focusing on the States, partly because of the question of saturation”.

Mr Beckett added at the time that any potential investor would require US market knowledge to bring “energy and contacts”.

He also reported that there was a possibility to add more locations in the UK market but they are “sensitive to the idea that we can’t push this too far”.

Hawksmoor was considering an IPO on the London Stock ­Exchange in 2021 but postponed plans after uncertainty in the hospitality industry during the ­Covid pandemic.

The group’s Irish restaurant opened last May in the National Bank Building at College Green in the centre of the city.

Earlier this year, Hawksmoor teamed up with Tayto to create a special ham hock and cheese toastie sandwich that was served with some crisps at the restaurant.