TGI Fridays UK operator falls into administration - see all the restaurants up for sale

The TGI Fridays in the Highcross shopping centre in Leicester
-Credit: (Image: Google)


The hospitality firm behind TGI Fridays has fallen into administration. Hostmore, which operates the brand in the UK, is racing to sell the chain of 87 restaurants - including the dining spot in Leicester city centre.

Hostmore said it had appointed joint administrators from Teneo. The company is in the process of trying to sell the UK restaurants to new owners, which it hopes to complete by the end of September.

This would keep the TGI Fridays brand alive on British high streets and save thousands of jobs. But it said earlier this month that it was not expecting to “recover any meaningful value” from the sale of sites, meaning it would earn less from the sale than it owes to creditors and banks.

READ MORE: TGI Fridays is selling all its restaurants - see your nearest location

It is also not clear whether it will secure a buyer for the entire chain, or whether it will manage to sell some but not all of the restaurants. The American-inspired restaurant chain is open as normal while the administration process starts.

Hostmore published a statement on the London Stock Exchange, which said: "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 £12 million, 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."

The first branch of T.G.I. Friday’s was opened in New York in 1965 to celebrate weekend dining - the name means ‘Thank God It’s Friday - and in 1986 the brand was imported to the UK. After first opening in Birmingham, the chain spread rapidly around the country with its popular format of casual American bistro-style dining.

Serving staff were known as Dub Dubs, and taught the art of entertaining their customers with jokes, banter, and other gimmicks like juggling and magic tricks, all performed with impeccable table craft and cheeriness. The chain was acquired by a private equity firm ten years ago, with a rebrand removing all the punctuation from the restaurant name to make it TGI Fridays.

In 2021, the company was spun out into Hostmore, a listed company and the restaurants were briefly renamed just ‘Fridays’ before marketing chiefs found customers still called it ‘TGI’s’ and restored the original name. You can see the restaurants near you with our interactive map or see the full list of outlets below.

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