Steak Houses up for sale

A package of prime West End sites is up for grabs after restaurant brands Aberdeen Steak House and Angus Steak House went into administration.

A number of pub and bar operators have contacted administrator BDO Stoy Hayward to make offers for individual sites or packages of leases.

The 21 London restaurants, which also include the American Café Burger brand, are rarely visited by native Londoners, but have long been a popular tourists destination.

They include sites in Leicester Square, Shaftesbury Avenue, Oxford Street and the Strand.

However, the business has seen trade hit badly by both the BSE crisis and the tourist slump in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

The mounting losses forced restaurateur Ali Salih, the majority shareholder in the privately-run business, to appoint the administrators.

Shay Bannon of BDO Stoy Hayward said: "There has already been a great deal of interest from a number of major pub operators. It's very unusual for this many quality West End sites to become available; some of the leases have been held by Aberdeen Steak House for 30 years."

Options include a sale of the whole business or a refinancing deal which would enable the current management to continue, as well as the sale of individual sites to the highest bidder.

Mr Bannon said: "It's impossible to say at this stage what the most likely outcome is; our job is to get the best deal we can for the creditors.

"We should have a clearer idea in a week or so, when all offers for the site are in and we've done the sums."