Got $1 billion? Hard Rock for sale

The iconic Hard Rock Cafe chain, once the symbol of all that was cool about American culture, is for sale and could fetch up to 1 billion dollars according to financial analysts.

The first Hard Rock Cafe restaurant was launched in 1971 in Piccadilly, London, by rock-loving Americans Isaac Tigrett and 21-year-old Peter Morton.

The Piccadilly restaurant soon became the cool place for stars such as Eric Clapton to munch burgers and fries. Clapton asked the restaurant to hang a guitar above his favourite stool and a week later Pete Townshend of The Who sent his guitar in with a note, "Mine's as good as his! Love Pete."

Rank, a UK-based company, owns and runs about 70 Hard Rock music memorabilia cafes worldwide and another 50 are operated under franchise.