Food industry tycoon Ranjit Boparan, and owner of Giraffe Concepts, has snapped up Ed's Easy Diner in a quick sell-off of the 1950s-American style restaurant chain.
The purchase, for an undisclosed sum, includes the Ed's Easy Diner brand, the group's head office team and 33 restaurants.
Giraffe managing director, Tom Crowley said in a statement: 'Ed's Easy Diner has been an integral part of the UK casual dining scene for the past four decades and we are very excited about the business joining the group and the opportunities ahead.'
It had been widely expected that the casual dining group would be subject to a quickie sell-off this week, with private equity groups Rutland Partners and R Capital two of the groups tipped to be buyers. At the beginning of the year, it was reported the group was up for sale.
Over the summer, chief executive Andrew Guy said the group would be 'pausing for breath' on further expansion.
In 2008 Ed's had three diners, all situated in London, but by June 2015 there were 41 branches in multiple cities.
Giraffe has more than 50 restaurants in the UK and four international branches. It was acquired by Boparan Restaurant Holdings (BRH) in June from Tesco, which bought the chain in 2013.
BRH's other brands including FishWorks and The Cinnamon Collection.