Hospitality magnate Richard Caring is reportedly on the verge of selling the UK-based Ivy Collection restaurant group for £1bn ($1.3bn), Sky News has reported.

London-based investment company Si Advisors is close to finalising the purchase.

The deal excludes Caprice Holdings and Richard Caring’s group of other restaurants, which includes London’s Scott’s, Sexy Fish and J Sheekey.

Caring, who holds a controlling interest in the company alongside Qatar’s former prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, initiated the auction process in the first half of 2024.

In 2019, Caring sold a 25% stake in Caprice Holdings to Sheikh Hamad for a reported £200m.

Both Caring and Sheikh Hamad are anticipated to sell their stakes as part of the agreement.

In January 2024, the original Ivy in London’s West End, its spin-off restaurants, the Ivy Collection and Ivy Asia sites, were valued at £1bn by the Sunday Times.

The Ivy, a fixture in Covent Garden since 1917, was founded by Abel Giandolini and Mario Gallati, who also opened Le Caprice, another renowned dining spot.

Caring acquired Caprice Holdings in 2005 and subsequently expanded the Ivy brand.

The latest financial records from Companies House for Troia (UK) Restaurants showed that The Ivy Collection posted £54.8m in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and almost £303m in turnover for the year ending January 2023.

Updated accounts are anticipated towards the end of 2024.

The Ivy's expansion under Caring has seen the establishment of numerous locations across London, the south of England and cities in Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Caring has also been an investor in the company that owns the Soho House chain of private members’ clubs.