McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King in the fray for UK’s Little Chef chain

McDonald's, KFC and Burger King are contenders for UK's Little Chef chain of roadside restaurants with the distinctive chubby cook mascot. The potential buyers also include British coffee shop chain Costa.

According to its owner, private equity firm Rcapital, claimed it had 'a deep affection for the Little Chef brand' and wanted to find a buyer prepared to keep chef mascot Charlie as a familiar sight beside UK's main roads.

However, according to the firm, it was resigned to the fact that this would be unlikely. The firm added the majority of the offers for Little Chef were from companies that might want to re-brand the estate.

According to the chain, the sale may happen by late summer and the chain might be split up between two or more buyers.

Little Chef, employing over 1,100 staff, opened its first restaurant in Reading in 1958, however, its popularity due to changing tastes and competition from food sales on petrol forecourts tapered.

Rcapital bought it in 2007, cut down the number of restaurants from 200 to 80 and tried to overhaul the menu in partnership with celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal.

The revamp was the subject of a documentary on Channel 4 named Big Chef takes on Little Chef.

Little Chef's filling all-day breakfasts have been the mainstay of its popularity the customers.

The chain enjoyed peak popularity, with it taking over its main rival Happy Eater in 1986, with more than 230 branches across the UK.

According to the chain, the aim of the sale was to find a buyer that would take the business and the brand on to the next stage. However, the market was changing and fast food and coffee houses were growing in popularity, and it was not a surprise that the majority of the offers for Little Chef were from companies that might want to rebrand the estate.

Rcapital said it had a deep affection for the Little Chef brand and it was hoped that some Little Chefs would remain on Britain's A-roads even if some sites were rebranded.

 'Fat Charlie,' the mascot of the group, this year took to social media  entered the social media age this year, taking to Twitter to urge UK citizens to breakfast at Little Chef, but counts less than 3,000 followers.