TGI Fridays to close 35 UK restaurants resulting in job loses

The UK operator of TGI Fridays revealed last month it had entered administration as it scrambled to sell its chain of 87 restaurants across the country.

On Monday (October 7) joint administrators at Teneo revealed Breal Capital and Calveton UK had acquired 51 restaurants.

The deal means TGI Fridays will remain on UK high streets and nearly 2,400 jobs have been saved.

UK high street shops that no longer exist

However, 35 restaurants were not included in the sale and have been closed immediately, resulting in 1,012 redundancies.

Chief executive of TGI Fridays UK, Julie McEwan, said: “The news today marks the start of a positive future for our business following a very challenging period for the casual dining sector as a whole.

“We are devastated for our colleagues who will be leaving TGIs and thank them for their loyalty and contribution during their time with us.

“We are doing everything possible to retain our team and support those impacted.”

#BreakingNews More than 1,000 staff at TGI Fridays have been made redundant with the immediate closure of 35 restaurants following a rescue deal to acquire 51 sites, administrators for the group said pic.twitter.com/c64leqTPw4

— PA Media (@PA) October 7, 2024

The collapse of the London-listed hospitality business came after plans to buy the US restaurant chain for £177 million fell through in September.

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It would have merged with US-based TGI Fridays Inc, to create a larger firm that would remain listed in London.

But the takeover plans were dropped after a management change which would have meant it could not collect royalties from the TGI Fridays brand.

TGI Fridays joins other big name businesses including Papa Johns and the Body Shop in closing sites in 2024.