Yo Sushi enters Inflexion takeover talks as restaurant M&A conveyor rolls on

Sky News understands that Inflexion Private Equity has in recent weeks emerged as the frontrunner to buy the company, which trades from more than 70 sites in the UK.

Inflexion has been given a "period of exclusivity" to negotiate a deal with the chain's current owners Quilvest, according to Sky News.

Yo! Sushi, which was set up by entrepreneur Simon Woodroffe in 1997, has apperantly also received interest from FTSE 100 company 3i, as well as from across the pond from Morgan Stanley's Private Equity arm and New York's Mistral Equity Partners.

‎The UK restaurant sector has seen heightened dealmaking in recent months, with Casual Dining Group, which owns Café Rouge, sealing a deal to buy the La Tasca tapas chain just days after buying Las Iguanas Mexican chain.

In July, French bistro chain Cote was taken over by BC Partners at a steep valuation and a plan to swell the number of outl

The UK arm of TGI Friday's was snapped up in December by the UK's Electra Partners for £225m, while the Kaye family had been rumoured to be planning to reunite the Ask and Prezzo pizza chains they founded in a £500m deal.