London's Groucho Club sold by private equity firm

The Groucho Club is located on Dean Street in London

The Groucho Club, a famed London private members' venue, is being sold to a group of investors that plan to open up a branch in New York.

The current owner, Graphite Capital, is selling its majority holding to the club's management team with backing from the investors.

The investors' group includes Alcuin Capital Partners, which owns the Caffè Nero coffee chain and the Krispy Kreme doughnuts UK franchise.

The cost of the deal was not disclosed.

However, according to reports, the sale was worth as much as £40m ($63m).

In a statement, Groucho chief executive Matt Hobbs said that the new owners would "continue to upgrade the old and worn out parts of the Club".

"We have also begun to look for a property in lower Manhattan so that we can have a long overdue home for members in New York," he said.

Founded in 1985, the Groucho Club became popular among the city's artistic and media crowd.

It has three bars, two restaurants and 20 bedrooms spread over several floors, and counts Rachel Weisz and Stephen Fry among its celebrity clientele.