Byron burger chain shrinks in size after fresh round of closures

Burger chain Byron has seen its number of sites drop to single figures following another round of closures.

The group, which was valued at £100m in 2013, permanently shut locations in Norwich and Oxford in October.

Its restaurant in Ipswich also closed its doors in July.

The closures are the latest downturn in fortunes for the brand, which was once seen as a pioneer of the gourmet burger market.

Byron was founded in 2007 by Tom Byng and grew to 34 sites before it was sold to investment firm Hutton Collins for £100m in 2013.

The chain nearly doubled in size to 67 sites but underwent a restructuring in 2018 amid a wider slowdown of the casual dining market.

It closed 31 of its 51 restaurants when it was sold to Famously Proper, a subsidiary of investment firm Calveton, for £4m during the pandemic in 2020.

The business changed hands again in January this year when Famously Proper was bought out of administration by Tristar Foods for just £856,000. This saw 12 Byron restaurants saved and nine permanently closed, with the loss of more than 200 jobs.

Byron's nine remaining sites are located in London, Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Liverpool, Edinburgh, and York.

Byron has been contacted for comment.