The UK division of chicken restaurant Nando's will be acquiring its rival, Clapham House Group for £30m, said the company in a statement on Friday.

The restaurant chain said that the target company - owner of Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) and The Real Greek - was struggling as "the trading environment for restaurant businesses in the UK has been difficult."

The company's board will be recommending the deal to shareholders. Nando's said that "significant investment and time" would be needed to "re-invigorate Clapham House's businesses."

"It is expected that conditions in the UK will remain challenging and consumer confidence will remain fragile," it added.

Clapham House's unprofitable Tootsies restaurants collapsed into administration in October 2009. The company, however, managed to generate £2.2m from issuing extra shares a few months ago.

Nando's explained that while this had led to a "selective" expansion of GBK, it would have not managed to put together future funding which was needed during an unpredictable time in the UK economy.

There are about 230 Nando's restaurants in the UK and Irish Republic and 53 GBK branches.