As first reported by the FT, investment bank Stephens has been hired to run a sales process and begun speaking to potential buyers.
It comes just as the group, which was founded by Will Beckett and Huw Gott back in 2006 and operates 10 sites across the UK, opens its latest US restaurant in Chicago, a move that forms part of a wider plan for international expansion.
London-based private equity firm Graphite Capital invested £35m for a stake in Hawksmoor in 2013, and has owned 51% of the business since then.
According to the FT, Beckett and Gott, who own a minority stake, will retain their shareholding to continue to lead the company following the sale.
Graphite Capital said it did not comment on ‘market rumour’ and Stephens declined to comment.
Hawksmoor did not comment on whether it was up for sale, but Beckett said in a statement: “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.”
The Chicago restaurant is Hawksmoor’s second in the US and is described by the company as ‘a key step in its strategy to open world-class restaurants in world-class cities.
It follows its debut US site in New York City’s Flatiron district, which opened in 2021, and the launch of a site in Dublin in 2023.