Byron hamburger chain for sale The Sunday Telegraph understands that the company, owned by private equity house Cinven, is speaking to a number of investment banks. The "beauty parade" of banks is believed to include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which acted for Pizza Express when it was taken private by Gondola in 2006, and Barclays. It can also be disclosed that Gondola has completed a deal with its syndicate of lenders to amend the terms of its £520m debt out to mid-2015, giving Cinven more time to consider how to exit the entire business. The current consumer environment means a full exit is unlikely before 2014. A float has been discussed, as has a full or partial sale. Sources close to the Byron process confirmed that Gondola had been talking to a number of possible advisers about future options for the high-end burger chain. The sale follows Byron's rapid growth, which has gone from one restaurant in 2007 to 25 across London, with two units opening in Oxford and Kent, the first outside the capital. A banking source said that Byron has rapidly become Gondola's growth engine. In the year to June 2011, Byron made a profit of £1.09m on sales of £17.5m, but only seven sites were open at the end of the period. One source suggested profits in the year to June 2012 could be significantly higher, in the region of £7-8m, giving a value - based on future growth potential - above £100m.