Byron Hamburgers


Byron Hamburgers Limited, trading as Byron, is a British restaurant chain offering a casual dining service with a focus on hamburgers. The chain was founded in 2007 by Tom Byng. The chain is owned by the private equity fund Three Hills Capital Partners, who purchased it from Hutton Collins in 2017.

Locations

The burger chain is UK-based, with, as of January 2020, 51 locations, 32 of which are located in London.

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.
The chain was owned by Gondola Group, which also owns Ask and Zizzi. Gondola announced plans to sell Byron in October 2012. Potential buyers included Quilvest, owners of YO! Sushi. 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, Three Hills announced it was preparing to place the 51-restaurant chain into administration, hoping to trigger a quick pre-pack sale.

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.
In September 2019, Byron was found responsible for the death of a customer by an inquest. Owen Carey told staff he was allergic to dairy, suffered an anaphylactic reaction on his 18th birthday after eating grilled chicken marinaded in buttermilk at the Byron restaurant at The O2 Arena in London on 22 April 2017.