Famously Proper is to permanently close nine of its sites after administrators were appointed, with the remaining 12 to transfer to recently incorporated entity Tristar Foods Limited.
The business, which operates the Byron and Mother Clucker brands, last week filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, with Claire Winder and Chris Pole from Interpath Advisory appointed on Friday (13 January).
Interpath explored a number of options to safeguard the future of the business, but no solvent offers were forthcoming and the directors filed for administration.
Immediately following their appointment, the joint administrators concluded a sale of the business and certain assets to Tristar Foods Limited.
Tristar Foods is closely linked to Calveton, Famously Proper’s backer of the last two-and-half years, via Sandeep Vyas, who is listed is a director at both companies.
Tristar’s other listed director is Haseeb Aziz, manager partner with Harwood Private Capital, and a former partner with Byon’s former backer Hutton Collins.
A total of 12 sites of its existing 21 sites will transfer to the new company as part of the transaction, safeguarding approximately 365 jobs. However, the closure of nine sites will result in 218 redundancies.
The nine restaurants that will be closing are: Bluewater; Chelmsford; Edinburgh (Lothian Road); Leeds; London – Wembley; Manchester; Milton Keynes; Salisbury; and Southampton.
Claire Winder, managing director at Interpath Advisory and joint administrator, said: “Like many other companies across the hospitality sector, Byron had seen a boost in trading following the end of the Covid lockdown measures. However, the sky-high inflation seen in 2022 saw costs spiral and resulted in reduced customer spend, which in turn placed significant cashflow pressure on the business.
“We are pleased to have concluded this transaction which will see the Bryon name continue to trade on high streets across the country and which, importantly, has preserved a significant number of jobs.”
In November, Famously Proper appointed Interpath Advisory to explore options to secure new investment for the future of the business.
The company acquired Byron from pre-pack administration in summer 2020 through private equity firm Calveton and acquired Mother Clucker in spring last year.
Byron first restructured in 2018 through a CVA that resulted in the closure of 16 sites, following by the pre-pack deal in 2020 that resulted in 31 restaurants closing.
MCA editor Finn Scott-Delany examined the rise and fall of the proper hamburger restaurant in a special analysis last week, which can be read here.
