Popular burger restaurant closes suddenly in Central Milton Keynes

A popular burger restaurant has suddenly closed down at the centre:mk.

Byron Burger shut its doors permanently over the weekend shortly after the owners of the national chain appointed administrators.

The company blamed its financial problems on rises in food and costs due to the cost of living crisis as well as a reduction in consumer spending.

Owners Famously Proper, owned by private equity firm Calveton, also runs fried chicken brand Mother Clucker ,and had more than 20 Byron sites across the UK.

On Friday 12 of the sites were been saved after a last minute rescue deal, which involved the company being sold to Tristar Foods, who are also owned by Calveton.

But nine restaurants, including the one in Silbury Arcade, have been closed, with more than 200 jobs lost. The toher affected sites include the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent, Leeds, Manchester, and Wembley in London.

It is understood staff from the surviving restaurant will be transferred to Tristar Foods.

Claire Winder from Interpath Advisory, the company acting as administrators on the deal, 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.”

She added: “We are pleased to have concluded this transaction which will see the Bryon name continue to trade on high streets across the country and which, importantly, has preserved a significant number of jobs.”