BURGER chain Byron is on the verge of collapse after becoming the latest restaurant to be hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
The company, which employs around 1,200 staff at 52 restaurants across the UK, filed a notice to appoint administrators on Monday.
Despite being on the brink of financial collapse, the Byron Burger board still remain hopeful that it can be sold as a “going concern.”
This comes after the burger chain put itself up for sale in May – as coronavirus continued to disrupt the restaurant industry.
Byron is now in talks with three potential buyers who could purchase the business in a possible pre-pack administration deal.
This is where a firm sells all or some of its assets to a pre-determined buyer, and appoints administrators to do so.
The burger chain started a sale process with accountancy firm KPMG earlier this year after being forced to shut its sites in the face of the pandemic.
The chain was founded by Tom Byng in 2007 – but was purchased by current private equity owners Three Hills Capital in 2017.
However, it launched a Company’s Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) restructuring deal, which saw the closure of 10 sites and reduced rents in order to support it after a downturn in trading.
Despite talks over the potential sale, it’s understood that the company intends to begin the phased reopening of sites next month.
A source told Sky News that an investor could buy the brand and parts of the business, but reduce the size of the firm.
That could potentially mean job losses and restaurant closures.
Restaurant chains have been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus crisis, with Cafe Rouge owner Casual Dining Group filing its own notice to appoint administrators in recent weeks.
Despite widespread financial restructuring of major restaurant chains over the last couple of years, the overall number of restaurants still rose by 2% last year according to the real estate adviser Altus Group.
The number of properties classified as restaurants in England and Wales increased by 563 to 27,995 at the end of 2019 and are up a further 183 to 28,178 during the first six months of 2020 despite the coronavirus lockdown.
