The owner of the Byron Burger chain has said it will close nine restaurants and cut 218 jobs in another restructure of the business. Famously Proper Ltd, which also controls the Mother Clucker fried chicken brand, blamed rising costs and lower consumer spending for the move. It is the third time since 2018 that the company has been significantly downsized. A deal has been struck to save 12 sites and around 365 jobs. The remaining restaurants and staff will be transferred to a new company called Tristar Foods, operated by the existing owner Calverton, through what is known as a pre-pack administration. A BBC analysis of corporate insolvency notices found that 320 businesses in the food service industry - restaurants, pubs, cafés and catering firms - were forced to initiate insolvency procedures in December. This was an increase of 41% compared to the same month in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic. In total, 6,613 hospitality firms have started insolvency proceedings since 2020.
