The Restaurant Group attracting private equity interest, reports say

Shares in The Restaurant Group spiked on Thursday afternoon as reports emerged of possible private equity interest in the lately troubled Garfunkel's and Frankie & Benny's owner.

Cinven, which previously owned Ask and Zizzi pizza restaurants, and US-based TA Associates, owner of the Cath Kidston lifestyle brand, were both said to have begun examining potential bids for the FTSE 250 group, according to sources cited by Sky News.

One City source indicated a takeout bid would need to be pitched above 500p.

The Restaurant Group has seen its shares crunched from over 700p in November to below 300p at the end of last month, lows not seen since 2012, after a succession of profit warnings.

April's update saw management highlight a further deterioration in trading conditions and announce the departure of finance director Stephen Critoph.

The company said total sales were up 4.7% in the 17 weeks to 24 April, but like-for-like sales were down 2.7% due to what it said was the tougher trading environment for consumer-facing businesses.

Both Cinven and Restaurant Group declined to make any comments in response to the reports on Thursday.