(Image: Derby Telegraph / SWNS.com)
TGI Fridays owner collapses into administration with 87 restaurants at risk - including seven in Greater Manchester
by Ashlie Blakey · Manchester Evening NewsThe UK operator of TGI Fridays has collapsed into administration - with 87 restaurants including a number in Greater Manchester set to be sold.
Hostmore, the owner of the American-style restaurant chain, said it had appointed administrators from Teneo after plans to buy the chain collapsed earlier this month. This week, 87 branches of the family-friendly restaurant were put up for sale in a bid to keep TGI Fridays alive on the UK's high streets, the Mirror reports.
Of the 87 branches, seven are in Greater Manchester including the Trafford Centre and Manchester Royal Exchange sites. These sales were planned to be completed by the end of this month, although it is not clear at this stage whether some or all of the restaurants are likely to find a buyer.
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The chain will remain open as normal while the administration process starts. In a statement issued to the London Stock Exchange, Hostmore said: "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."
Here is the full list of the 87 UK outlets of TGI Fridays that are up for sale:
- Aberdeen Beach
- Aberdeen Union Square
- Ashton-under-Lyne
- Barnsley
- Basildon
- Birmingham
- Birmingham NEC
- Bluewater
- Bolton
- Bournemouth
- Bracknell
- Braehead
- Braintree
- Brighton Marina
- Cabot Circus
- Cardiff Newport Road
- Cardiff St David's
- Castleford
- Cheadle
- Chelmsford
- Cheltenham
- Cheshire Oaks
- Coventry
- Crawley
- Cribbs Causeway
- Croydon
- Derby
- Doncaster
- Durham
- Edinburgh
- Enfield
- Fareham
- Fort Kinnaird
- Gateshead
- Glasgow Buchanan Street
- Glasgow Fort
- Gloucester Quays
- Halifax
- High Wycombe
- Jersey
- Lakeside Quay
- Lakeside Retail Park
- Leeds Junction 27
- Leeds Wellington Bridge Street
- Leeds White Rose
- Leicester
- Lincoln
- Liverpool One
- Liverpool Speke
- London Leicester Square
- London Stratford City
- London the O2
- Manchester Royal Exchange
- Meadowhall
- Metro Centre Gateshead
- Milton Keynes
- Milton Keynes Stadium
- Newcastle Eldon Square
- Newport Friars Walk
- Northampton
- Norwich
- Nottingham
- Prestwich
- Reading
- Romford
- Rushden Lakes
- Sale
- Sheffield
- Silverburn
- Solihull
- Southampton Retail Park
- Staines
- Stevenage
- Teesside
- Telford
- Trafford Centre
- Trinity Leeds
- Walsall
- Watford Central
- Watford North
- Wembley
- West Quay