A-Z Restaurants, the owner of popular London restaurants including Aubergine, L'Orange, and Zafferano, will now be in a position to expand its epicurean empire, after it secured backing from Close Brothers Growth Capital, the private equity arm of the UK merchant bank.

Close Brothers will provide a total of £5m (€8.3m) to help fund A-Z's expansion plans. The restaurant group, which currently operates some eleven restaurants in and around London, plans to open eight new eateries in the next two years, including two slated to open in the next four months.