Fri 13th Jan 2023 - Byron owner sold out of administration, nine restaurants close Byron owner sold out of administration, nine restaurants close: Famously Proper, which operates a chain of 21 casual dining burger restaurants across the UK, trading under the Byron and Mother Clucker brands, has been sold out of administration. Tristar Foods has acquired 12 of the sites. The business is owned by Sandeep Vyas, co-founder of Calveton, the parent company of Famously Proper, who was formerly director of international operations at Yum! Brands. The restaurants transferring to the new owner are: Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Edinburgh Royal Mile, Ipswich, Liverpool, London – Central St Giles, London – Covent Garden, London – Old Brompton Road, London – White City, Norwich, Oxford and York. The remaining nine restaurants have closed with immediate effect. They are Bluewater, Chelmsford, Edinburgh Lothian Road, Leeds, London – Wembley, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Salisbury and Southampton. It comes after Claire Winder and Chris Pole, from Interpath Advisory, were appointed joint administrators to Famously Proper today (Friday, 13 January). The administrators stated: “Over the past 12 months, the company has faced significant challenges to trading, driven by rising costs, principally food and utilities, together with a reduction in customer spending as a result of the current cost-of-living crisis. Following an exploration of a number of options to safeguard the future of the business, no solvent offers were forthcoming, and the directors took the difficult decision to file for the appointment of administrators. Immediately following their appointment, the joint administrators concluded a sale of the business and certain assets to Tristar Foods. A total of 12 sites will transfer to the newco as part of the transaction, safeguarding approximately 365 jobs. Regrettably, nine sites will close with immediate effect, resulting in 218 redundancies. As a matter of priority, the joint administrators will be providing support to those impacted by redundancy, including providing the information required to make claims from the Redundancy Payments Office.” Winder 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 Byron name continue to trade on high streets across the country and which, importantly, has preserved a significant number of jobs.”