Byron could close East Midlands restaurants

East Midlands jobs on the line at Byron

Byron Hamburgers, the troubled burger chain which has venues in Derby and Leicester, could close up to 20 stores after it unveiled a plan aimed at saving the business.

The plans sees existing investor Three Hills Capital Partners become the majority shareholder. Hutton Collins will sell half of its current holding in Byron to Three Hills Capital Partners and will retain a significant minority interest in the business.

The proposal will see Byron focus the business on a smaller, more profitable core estate. The firm says the business model will be “more suitable to the current economic headwinds affecting the sector, whilst continuing to meet Byron’s obligations to suppliers and creditors”.

This proposed restructuring will be undertaken under the terms of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).

Under the CVA process, Byron has submitted a comprehensive operational restructuring plan to its creditors and will solicit their approval of the CVA over the next 21 days. If approved by the creditors, the CVA proposal will reduce Byron’s rental obligations and allow the business to move to a more viable business model.

A statement from the firm said: “In the event of closures, we will do everything possible to redeploy staff to other stores and other initiatives.

Chief executive of Bryon, Simon Cope, said: “Byron’s core restaurant business and brand remain strong but the market that we operate in has changed profoundly. In order to continue serving our loyal customer base, we need to make some critical and difficult changes to the size and shape of our estate.

“With the support of our new owners, our creditors, landlords and other business partners, I’m confident Byron will able to continue providing our consumers with the best burger experience.

“The teams in our restaurants are always such an inspiration and we will work hard to support them throughout this difficult process.”

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