The company is working with Houlihan Lokey, the boutique adviser, to assess its options, which are understood to include third-party investment or a possible sale of the business, The Times reports.
The chain, which was founded by Charlie Carroll in 2012 as a pop-up above a pub in Shoreditch, now has 16 restaurants across London as well as in Cambridge, Leeds and Manchester.
It is aiming to open another four to five sites per year, with the 17th restaurant coming to London’s Victoria next month and another on the South Bank in March.
In its most recent accounts, sales jumped 38% to a record £49.6m in the 12 months to the end of August, with underlying profits rising to £5.7m, from £3.8m in 2023.
Carroll – who along with Oisin Rogers and Ashley Palmer-Watt is also behind smash hit London pub restaurant The Devonshire - launched his first bricks and mortar Flat Iron in 2014 in Soho and in 2017 received a £10m minority investment from private equity house Piper.
Tom Byng, the former chief executive of Byron Burger, become CEO of Flat Iron in 2021. Byng told The Times he was “delighted to have achieved another record year of growth”.
“The concept of affordable and delicious steak continues to resonate as consumers increasingly look for both value and quality in these challenging economic times.
“We’re often approached by potential partners about our next stage of development and recently appointed Houlihan Lokey to help us explore our options in the coming years.”
Flat Iron has been shortlisted for Best Value Restaurant Group at Restaurant’s R200 Awards, which take place next month.
