Dubens's firm Oakley hungry for Ed's Easy Diner

Hip, high-end burgers - think Honest Burger, Dirty Burger and, possibly even, Byron Burger - are all the rage with British trendy, metropolitan types but it seems like the City's private equity firms are more interested in tired, old burger chain brands.

Indeed, I hear Oakley Capital, the private equity firm set up by entrepreneur Peter Dubens, has been participating in the £100 million auction for Ed's Easy Diner, which I used to visit in my teens.

For readers unfamiliar with Dubens, he used to drive currency trader Joe Lewis around in the Bahamas but then became a multi-millionaire after setting up the hypercolour t-shirt company.

Anyway, apparently the auction process for Ed's Easy Diner is now at a relatively advanced stage and a deal could be announced in the next couple of months.

The suits at corporate finance boutique McQueen were appointed some months ago to sell Ed's Easy Diner. McQueen, though, was itself recently gobbled up by US investment banking group Houlihan Lokey, so I'm presuming the American firm is now running the sale process.

And it would appear there is a veritable feeding frenzy among British and American private equity firms for Ed's Easy Diner.

According to well-placed sources, Oakley Capital - which has an AIM-listed vehicle - is toughing it out with former Yo Sushi owner Primary Capital, current Prezzo owner TPG Capital and Bowmark Capital, which previously invested in Las Iguanas.

I guess Ed's Easy Diner offering is at a lower price point then the new (ish) trendier burger chains, so there is potential for the private equity firms to roll out the brand further across the UK.

But with the likes of Five Guys - which is backed by Sir Charles Dunstone and Credit Suisse banker Russell Chambers, a friend of Tony Blair - recently establishing itself in the London market, the competition is looking truly fierce for those buy-out executives looking to make money flipping burgers.

Oakley Capital and Primary Capital both declined to comment.