Coventry TGI Fridays at risk as operator collapses into administration

The future of Coventry's popular TGI Fridays is at risk as the company's owner has gone into administration.
-Credit: (Image: Google Street map)


The future of Coventry's popular TGI Fridays is at risk as the company's owner has gone into administration. Hostmore said it had appointed administrators from Teneo.

It comes after plans to buy the US restaurant chain collapsed earlier this month, the Mirror has reported. All of the company's 87 restaurants, including the Coventry eatery, were put up for sale earlier this week.

It has been reported that some of these sales were planned to be completed by the end of this month. Now the future is less certain.

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This is because it is not clear whether some or all of the restaurants are likely to find a buyer. The Binley branch has been at the centre of celebrations for locals for years, with the famed birthday song and balloon hat.

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It has been said that American-inspired restaurant chain will remain open as normal while the administration process starts. Hostmore said, in a statement to the London Stock Exchange: "The board is immensely proud of all Hostmore colleagues, both in store and in the support centre, who worked tirelessly to execute a turnaround programme over the past 18 months and to deliver a successful result on the proposed acquisition of TGI Fridays, Inc.

"The board inherited a very challenging set of circumstances, but a focus on reducing costs, revising the group’s capital allocation policy and implementing both board and senior management changes, meant that the group was able to reduce annualised expenditures by £12million, significantly reduce losses from unprofitable stores, and operate the group’s stores at a best in class efficiency level for the sector, all while improving guest scores to our highest levels on record.

“Unfortunately, all of the board’s efforts to implement a lasting solution to support the long-term financial future of the business came against a highly challenging trading and macroeconomic backdrop, and efforts to create value for shareholders through the proposed acquisition of TGI Fridays, while well-advanced, encountered adverse events outside of the board’s control."

TGI Fridays first opened in the UK in the 1980s with its first branch in nearby Birmingham. The Mirror has approached Teneo for comment.

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