Tom Byng to leave Byron

Tom Byng, the founder of upmarket burger chain Byron, is to leave the business in early 2017.

Former Morrisons supermarket boss Dalton Philips has been appointed as the new non-executive chairman, while former KPMG executive Andrew Manders has been hired as the new chief executive following the move.

Byng will remain as a shareholder and will continue his involvement with Byron as an advisor to the board, the company said.

In a statement, Byng said: "It has been a huge honour to lead the Byron team through almost ten years of explosive growth during which we have served over 24 million proper hamburgers to customers up and down the UK. We have doubled the size of the business since 2013 and with our 70th restaurant due to open in Southampton in the coming days, I feel the business now needs a different style of leadership to guide it through the next stage of growth.

"I have full confidence in Andrew's ability and I wish him and Hutton Collins well for the future. I am enormously proud of my 1,800 friends in the Byron team, from the pot wash to the board room and I'd like to thank them all for the part they have played in what has been an amazing story so far. I know they will continue to thrive in the months and years ahead.

"The food scene in Britain is unrecognisable from a decade ago and London is the number one restaurant city in the world. It's a thrilling time to be a restaurateur and I am greatly looking forward to pursuing various exciting ventures in the coming months."

"Dalton Philips and Andrew Manders are both exceptionally well qualified to take Byron forward as it matures into a business of real scale. They will make a creative, energetic and experienced team and I look forward to working with them on the next phase of Byron's growth."

Manders most recently worked as managing director of Fired Earth, the interiors company, and has previously had board level roles at Aspinal of London, Mountain Warehouse and Jones Bootmaker.

Dalton Philips is a senior advisor with The Boston Consulting Group, chairman of timber and building merchant The Ridgeon Group, and is a non-executive director of the industrial plastic group One51.

Number of new foodservice brands declines >>

Wake-up call: Did Byron get it right? >>

Byron supports Home Office removal of 35 staff working "illegally" >>