Bryon burger chain ‘to close half of its restaurants’ as part of major restructure

Byron burger chain is set to permanently close around half of its restaurants as part of a huge overhaul of its business, according to a report.

The chain is thought to be looking at shutting 10 of its remaining 21 restaurants, but it is unclear how many jobs could be lost in the restructuring.

Sky News claims the owners of the Byron, investment firm Calveton, are set to strike a possible deal with the burger chain’s administrators, Interpath Advisory, this week.

The news website cited "insiders" as saying a deal could be reached in the coming few days and the deal is reported to be a "pre-pack administration".

The possible administration would come just two years after the chain’s last failure when it appointed a London Mayfair-based investment firm as administrators at the height of the pandemic.

In 2020, Byron closed 31 of its sites at a cost of around 650 jobs. At this time it operated more than 50 restaurants and was majority-owned by Three Hills Capital Partners.

The company was then downsized as part of that administration and taken under the control of Calveton, although Three Hills still retains a minority stake.

Byron ran into real trouble in 2018 when it went through a restructuring exercise to erase its debt burden. The burger chain had to close underperforming restaurants.

The burger chain was part of the "casual dining" phenomenon which took place in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s. It opened its first UK site in 2007 and grew very quickly.

Several major restaurant chains, such as Bella Italia, Cafe Rouge, Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) and Pizza Express have faced similar financial troubles as Byron.

The restaurants have all expanded far too quickly, creating a fragile business and the pandemic hit these businesses hard.

As a recession looms in the UK, the financial forecast looks bleak for businesses in the UK and there could be many administrations over the next year.

NationalWorld has contacted Byron and Calveton for comments on the story.