The pre-pack deal was announced as Tootsies, whose parent company is Gourmet Burger Kitchen owner Clapham House, went into administration. Giraffe is backed by private equity group 3i as well as Risk Capital Partners, whose founder Luke Johnson is chairman of the restaurant group.

The £2.5 million deal includes 11 of the 21 Tootsies outlets in London and the South East and brings the Giraffe group to a total of 36 restaurants.

Says Johnson, ‘This is a deal that will transform Giraffe and it shows how ambitious we are for the business.’

Giraffe’s management team, led by managing director Russel Joffe, will continue to run the acquired restaurants as Tootsies for the next few months, after which they will be rebranded as Giraffe.

Joffe comments that the acquisition of the restaurants is expected to take Tootsies’ revenues to more than £35 million.

Risk Capital Partners backed Giraffe in 2004, while 3i first invested in 2006.