Restaurants selling pizzas, chickens and burgers have seen their stock rise leading to private equity firm buyouts
Nando's The peri-peri chicken joint beloved of Dizzee Rascal, Beyonce and just about everyone else started life in Johannesburg as Chickenland. Opening its first restaurant in Ealing, west London, in 1992, the chain soon left behind its takeaway origins, almost inventing the niche of fast food with time to linger in a relaxed setting.
Pizza Express When Peter Boizot opened a pizzeria in Soho in 1965 inspired by his Sicilian holiday, he transformed the British eating-out scene, then dominated by formal French restaurants with multiple courses and rich sauces. Today Pizza Express has more than 420 restaurants and has changed owners several times, although many of Boizot's original ideas – dough balls and Veneziana pizzas – remain on the menu.
Giraffe With its cheerful décor and plentiful supply of crayons, Giraffe has gone down a treat with parents, ever since it was first opened by Juliette and Russel Joffe in Hampstead, north London, in 1998. Analysts will be watching if it can hold on to that charm since its sale to Tesco for nearly £50m in March, as the supermarket seeks to revive its ailing out of town superstores.
Wagamama Hong-Kong born restaurateur Alan Yau proved that Britons were not averse to eating with strangers at the same table, when he opened Wagamama in Bloomsbury, central London, in 1992. Yau sold the business in 1998 when it had just two outlets, but a succession of private-equity owners have expanded the noodle bar, turning it into a chain that operates in 17 countries.
Byron Byron burger is still a fairly small chain but has a plan for growth that burger fan George Osborne might envy. The company started by Tom Byng in 2008 to serve "proper burgers", is on course to open 45 restaurants by the end of the year. Owners Gondola Group, who also own Pizza Express and Ask, recently failed to sell it, as bidders balked at the £100m asking price. But industry watchers think a sizzling deal is still on the cards.