US private equity group Blackstone is in advanced talks to buy pizza restaurant chain Strada from clothing entrepreneur Richard Caring for £100m-£120m.Daily Telegraph


Blackstone owns the Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia restaurant brands through holding company Tragus. Sources believe the group, which this week received $3bn of investment from China, hopes to consolidate the smaller chains of the UK restaurant sector.

Caring bought Signature restaurants, which owns the Strada brand, from Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson for around £57m in 2005.

The Signature group also owns some Belgo and Bierodrome restaurants.

Caring also owns the Ivy, Le Caprice, J Sheekey, Daphne’s, Bam-Bou and Pasha.