The group, which was acquired in a pre-pack deal by Tristar Foods Limited back in January, has closed its restaurants in Ipswich, Oxford and Norwich in recent months, adding to the nine sites that were permanently closed as part of that administration process.
The latest closures leave Byron with just nine restaurants in operation. They include four based in London and single sites in Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Liverpool, Edinburgh and York.
Once considered the darling the ‘better burger scene’, Byron was founded by Tom Byng back in 2007 and at its peak operated close to 70 restaurants and was generating annual sales of £90m.
However, in the last decade the group has faced a seemingly endless succession of hurdles, including three separate insolvency procedures, which have slowly whittled away the number of restaurants in its portfolio.
In early 2018 the business permanently closed almost a third of its estate as part of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) that saw Three Hills Capital Partners replace previous owner Hutton Collins as majority shareholder.
Then in the summer of 2020, the group was acquired by Famously Proper, a subsidiary of investment company Calveton UK Limited, in a pre-pack administration deal that saw it reduce its estate by a further 30 sites, leaving it with 21 restaurants.
Following the sale, Famously Proper went on to launch a new Byron restaurant – the brand’s first opening in five years – in Wembley.
It also acquired fried chicken brand Mother Clucker, with a view to expanding it across the country alongside rebuilding Byron’s estate.
However, those plans came to a halt when the group appointed Interpath Advisory to review its options in November last year; a move that eventually led to Tristar acquiring Famously Proper and shuttering nine Byron restaurants including the site in Wembley.
Restaurant has contacted Tristar for comment regarding the latest closures.