Noodle bar chain Wagamama is to be auctioned off after reportedly abandoning its plans for a public floatation worth £225m.

The company, which was bought by Lion Capital for £102.5m two years ago, is understood to have received offers from private equity buyers in excess of the IPO valuation.

According to a source quoted in todays Financial Times it is “highly likely that the IPO will be pulled” and a quick auction will follow between “three or four bidders”. Rothschild has been appointed to handle the sale.

Wagamama, which was established in 1991, has 51 stores in the UK and two in Boston in the USA.

It is 77.5% owned by Lion Capital and 22.5% owned by its senior management including chairman Ian Neill and chief executive Steven Hill.

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By Christopher Walton

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