Byron in fight for survival amid restaurant sector struggles
Popular high street burger selling chain Byron has announced that it is considering a sale of part of its business in order to rescue the group.
Bryon’s owner, London-based private equity firm Hutton Collins, has aired plans to sell half of its current holding with Three Hills Capital Partners lined up as a potential new majority shareholder.
The deal relies upon a successful restructuring of the burger business after agreeing to the terms of a company voluntary agreement (CVA) on the back of several difficult years of trading.
Accountancy firm KPMG, which is overseeing the restructuring process, said that plans were currently to close almost 20 restaurants and reduce the rent paid at other sites for six months.
The accountancy firm said that no restaurants would close on “day one”, while Byron would continue to pay suppliers and employees as normal in the interim.
Hutton Collins bought Byron in a deal worth £100 million in 2013 and has since doubled the restaurant chain’s locations from 34 to almost 70.
Byron said in a statement today that the planned restructure would let it “refocus the business on a smaller, more profitable core estate” and that it would do “everything possible” to find displaced staff a new roll at other sites.
Simon Cope, Byron’s CEO, said: “Byron’s core restaurant business and brand remain strong but the market that we operate in has changed profoundly.
“With the support of our new owners, our creditors, landlords and other business partners, I’m confident Byron will be able to continue providing our consumers with the best burger experience.”
The burger chain opened its first restaurant in Kensington in 2007 with a mission to bring “proper hamburgers” to the UK high street. However, rising costs in the casual dining industry have caused problems, as has competition from home delivery rivals and other brands.