THE DUBLIN-BASED Mao restaurant chain is close to being sold to Colum and Ciarán Butler, brothers who are behind TGI Friday’s, the Leisureplex entertainment chain and the UCI cinema group.

A receiver was appointed to the Asian restaurant chain in early July on behalf of AIB. However the three restaurants in the group, in Chatham Row, Dún Laoghaire and Dundrum, have remained open and have been trading as normal.

It is understood the terms of the sale have been agreed and the sale may be concluded by the end of next week. Receiver Ken Fennell said he could not comment until any sale was completed.

The restaurants continue to trade under their existing management teams, although the former directors of the company, Graham Campbell, Donald Flanagan and James Osborne, are not thought to be involved in the business.

Mao opened in Dublin in the early 1990s. In recent years, the group opened restaurants in Cape Town in South Africa and Glasgow, Scotland. It is believed that problems with its overseas operations contributed to forcing the chain into receivership.

Accounts for 2008, the most recent available, show that its operations were profitable that year, but interest and other charges left it with a €146,000 loss. Notes to those accounts show it had €1.4 million in bank loans in various amounts due over periods ranging from a year to nine years.

The accounts state that directors had given personal guarantees of €965,000 against these debts. Net assets stood at €168,000, while tangible assets topped €2 million.