The Giraffe restaurant group, chaired by Luke Johnson and backed by Risk Capital Partners and 3i, is to open at least 10 restaurants by the end of 2011.

The move will take the chain, an all-day restaurant concept based on global food and drink, to over 50 sites across the country and represents an acceleration in its roll-out plans, building on both organic growth and previous strategic acquisitions. A Giraffe restaurant has just opened in Blackheath, London and further openings at the end of this year will take place at the Touchwood shopping and entertainment complex in Solihull, West Midlands, and at Horsham in West Sussex.

Next year, the group - led by Russel and Juliette Joffe, with partner Andrew Jacobs - will open restaurants in Bath, Somerset, and Chelmsford, Essex, and at up to ten other locations including the new Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, east London. The additional sites are expected to lift group revenues to more than £50m annually.