Famously Proper Limited, trading as Byron, is a British

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...

offering a

casual dining Restaurants fall into several industry classifications, based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well as the means by which the food is served to the customer. This article mainly describes the situation in the USA, while catego ...

service with a focus on burgers. The chain was founded in 2007 by Tom Byng. In July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the chain closed outlets as part of a deal transferring 21 remaining sites and 551 staff to a new owner, Calveton UK.

Locations

The burger chain is UK-based. In August 2020, it had 21 locations across the UK.

History

The burger chain was founded in London in 2007 by Tom Byng, who developed the idea for the company while living in New York City, during which time he would regularly eat at the Silver Top Diner in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

. The chain was owned by

Gondola Group Gondola Group was a chain restaurant operator in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It operated several casual dining brands: *Byron Hamburgers, sold to Hutton Collins for £100 million in October 2013. *Kettners, champagne bar and restaurant (one ...

, which also owns Ask and

Zizzi Zizzi is a chain of Italian-inspired restaurants in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In February 2015, Bridgepoint Capital completed a £250 million acquisition of '' ASK Italian'' and ''Zizzi'', and subsequently bought by TowerBrook Capital Partn ...

. Gondola announced plans to sell Byron in October 2012. Potential buyers included Quilvest, owners of

YO! Sushi YO! Sushi is a company that owns, operates, and franchises conveyor belt sushi restaurants, principally in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Australia. History YO! ...

. In June 2013 Gondola stated that it was abandoning plans to sell Byron, after offers failed to reach the company's estimated £100m price tag, and decided to accelerate expansion of Byron instead. In October 2013, Hutton Collins Partners finally put in the £100 million offer and the chain was sold. In 2017 Hutton Collins sold a majority stake in Byron Hamburgers to Three Hills Capital Partners, with FPP Asset Management also becoming a new investor, while retaining a minority stake. On 29 June 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Three Hills announced it was preparing to place the 51-restaurant chain into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

, hoping to trigger a quick pre-pack sale. Just over a month later, on 31 July 2020, the chain announced it was permanently closing more than half its 51 outlets, with the loss of 650 jobs, as part of a deal transferring the remaining 20 sites and 551 staff to a new owner, Calveton UK.

Dark kitchens

In August 2020, Byron announced the opening of five delivery-only

ghost restaurant A virtual restaurant (also known as a ghost kitchen or dark kitchen) is a food service business that serves customers exclusively by delivery and pick up based on phone and online ordering. It is a separate food vendor entity that operates out o ...

s. Pre-Covid the company's delivery channel was understood to be ahead of 10% like-for-like revenue.

Controversies

In July 2016, the company attracted adverse publicity after calling their London workers to a faked Health and Safety briefing following a request by the Home Office. Immigration officials present at the venue arrested several employees, deporting 35 for immigration offences. This led to protests outside several of their branches in London, including the release of live cockroaches and locusts at some premises and a call to boycott the chain. A customer suffered an anaphylactic reaction after eating grilled chicken marinaded in buttermilk at the Byron restaurant at The O2 Arena in London on 22 April 2017 and died. The company's allergen procedures were shown to be in line with the FSA's existing rules and regulations and, following the inquest, the company announced that it would work with regulators to ensure that standards are improved across the industry.

References

External links