OpenTable, a US restaurant reservation service, has agreed to buy toptable for $55m.
Toptable was founded in 2000 by Karen Hanton and has seen sales rise from £1.6m in 2005 to £5.5m in 2008, with pre-tax profit rising to £1.2m in the year to June 2009. It allows users to book at more than 5,000 restaurants across the UK and nearly 3m diners book through the site each year.
Hanton commented: "This is an important milestone in toptable's history. There's always been mutual admiration between the two companies, and we're really excited about the future, working as a combined force."
Shareholders in toptable include Sir Alex Ferguson and celebrity chef Gary Rhodes.
"This acquisition of toptable.com is designed to accelerate the growth of our business in the United Kingdom in a meaningful way," said Jeff Jordan, President and CEO, OpenTable.
"By combining toptable.com's robust consumer destination site for diners with our best-in-class software for restaurants, we will be able to provide a superior service to restaurants and diners in the United Kingdom."