Accountancy firm Deloitte has confirmed that it has been appointed by Living Ventures to find a prospective buyer for the 28-strong bar and restaurant group.
A spokeswoman for Deloitte said that the company's Jon Lake and Jonathan Hinton had been hired to find a buyer, but she was unable to confirm predictions that the business could raise £40m.
However, Living Ventures' co-founder and managing director, Tim Bacon, has described reports of the plans to sell as "inaccurate". Former Catey winner Bacon said that the group was, in fact, being "reorganised" but insisted that it was not looking to sell "at present".
Any sale would have to be agreed with Frankie & Benny's owner The Restaurant Group (TRG), which acquired a 40% stake in Living Ventures in April 2005 for £7.7m.
TRG has an option to buy out the remaining 60% of the company's equity in 2008 or to buy back the Est Est Est restaurant chain, which it sold to Living Ventures when it acquired its shareholding.
A TRG spokesman said he could not comment on the situation.
Living Ventures, which Bacon co-founded in 1999 with Jeremy Roberts, currently has 13 Living Rooms, 13 Est Est Est pizza and pasta restaurants, and three Bar and Grill restaurants.
By Angela Frewin