Tom Byng is to step down as chief executive of Byron, the better burger business he founded in 2007 and has grown to a £80m-turnover, 69-strong business.
Byng, who will leave the business early next year, will remain a shareholder and will continue his involvement with Byron as an advisor to the board.
He will be suceeded as chief executive at the Hutton Collins-backed chain by Andrew Manders, former managing director of the Fired Earth retail chain, with Dalton Philips, the former chief executive of supermarket chain Wm Morrison, named as non-executive chairman
Stephen Murphy, the current chairman, will remain on the board as a non-executive director.
Manders is a former director at KPMG with significant experience of senior management and advisory roles in consumer facing businesses. He previously has held board level roles at Aspinal of London, Mountain Warehouse and Jones Bootmaker.
Byng said: “It has been a huge honour to lead the Byron team through almost ten years of explosive growth during which we have served over 24 million proper hamburgers to customers up and down the UK. We have doubled the size of the business since 2013 and with our 70th restaurant due to open in Southampton in the coming days, I feel the business now needs a different style of leadership to guide it through the next stage of growth. I have full confidence in Andrew’s ability and I wish him and Hutton Collins well for the future. I am enormously proud of my 1,800 friends in the Byron team, from the pot wash to the board room and I’d like to thank them all for the part they have played in what has been an amazing story so far. I know they will continue to thrive in the months and years ahead.
“The food scene in Britain is unrecognisable from a decade ago and London is the number one restaurant city in the world. It’s a thrilling time to be a restaurateur and I am greatly looking forward to pursuing various exciting ventures in the coming months.”
Manders is a former director at KPMG with significant experience of senior management and advisory roles in consumer facing businesses. Most recently he was Managing Director of Fired Earth, the interiors company, and has previously had board level roles at Aspinal of London, Mountain Warehouse and Jones Bootmaker.
In 2013, Hutton Collins Partners acquired Byron in a transaction worth £100m.
Graham Hutton, managing partner of Hutton Collins, said: “Tom has been an inspirational and pioneering founder of Byron and has built the business to a significant size in a very short time. For the founders of successful businesses, the last decision they make – when to step down – is one of the most important, and we think Tom has got his timing just right. On behalf of everyone involved with Byron I want to thank him for his outstanding leadership, boundless energy and tremendous achievement in building such a terrific business. I would also like to thank Stephen for his significant contribution to the business as Chairman and I’m very pleased that he will remain a non-executive director.”
“Dalton Philips and Andrew Manders are both exceptionally well qualified to take Byron forward as it matures into a business of real scale. They will make a creative, energetic and experienced team and I look forward to working with them on the next phase of Byron’s growth.”
