Byron Burger set to close up to 20 venues as creditors agree rescue package

Byron is to close up to 20 outlets UK-wide.

A total of 99 per cent of the company's creditors voted in favour of the proposal today, with three quarters needed to pass the motion.

Simon Cope, Byron chief executive, said the Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) meant "a number" of restaurants would close.

The company, which has expanded in Scotland in recent years with the opening of two new restaurants in Edinburgh city centre and one in Union Square in Aberdeen, has a total of 67 operating restaurants UK-wide.

Mr Cope, who was brought in to revive the chain last year after having had similar success at Wagamama, said workers would, where possible be employed elsewhere in the chain.

He said: "As a result of this restructuring process, a number of our restaurants will close and we will do everything possible to redeploy staff to other sites and initiatives."

Byron Burger is thought to have suffered from a downturn in consumer spending in the wake of rising inflation. It was also hit with a flurry of negative publicity when it held fake meetings for staff as part of an immigration sting which resulted the arrest of 35 of its workers from Albania, Brazil, Nepal and Egypt.

"Today’s creditor vote in favour of the CVA proposal will allow Byron to conclude its previously negotiated financial restructuring and is a key step in the directors’ turnaround plan," said Will Wright, a restructuring partner at KPMG and joint supervisor of the CVA.

Byron is the latest firm to enter into a CVA agreement, which ringfences the firm in a legally binding agreement with its creditors to allow a proportion of debt to be paid back over time, following in the footsteps of Toys R Us and Jamie's Italian.