TGI Fridays is set to shut down 35 of its restaurants and axe around 1,000 jobs as part of a rescue deal to save the brand.
Some 51 of the hospitality chains have been acquired by Breal Capital and Calveton UK after the group’s previous operator fell into administration.
As a result of this, nearly 2,400 jobs at TGI Fridays have been saved in a win for the economy.
Despite this, joint administrators at Teneo confirmed 35 restaurants were not included in the sale.
These restaurants have been closed immediately, with 1,012 redundancies taking place.
This comes amid a wave of store, pub and bank branch closures that have swept Britain’s high streets.
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Julie McEwan, the chief executive of TGI Fridays UK, shared her disappointment over the job losses.
She 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.”
Here is a full list of the TGI Fridays restaurants that have been saved as part of the rescue deal:
- Bluewater
- Trafford Centre
- Meadowhall
- Aberdeen Union Square
- Metrocentre
- Basildon
- Glasgow Fort
- Milton Keynes Stadium
- Braehead
- Wembley
- Birmingham NEC
- Glasgow
- Junction 27
- Castleford
- Lakeside Quay
- Teesside
- Bolton
- Norwich
- St Davids
- Doncaster
- Lakeside
- Fareham
- Liverpool One
- Stevenage
- White Rose
- Cribbs Causeway
- Rushden Lakes
- Stoke on Trent
- Southampton
- Silverburn
- Watford Central
- Aberdeen Beach
- Braintree
- Bournemouth
- Stratford
- High Wycombe
- Cheshire Oaks
- Walsall
- Milton Keynes
- Sheffield
- Nottingham
- Edinburgh
- Coventry
- Ashton-Under-Lyne
- Telford
- The O2
- Staines
- Crawley
- Reading
- Cheadle
- Leicester Square
Initial reports of the brand being saved came about over the weekend.
Sky News claimed “final details were being ironed out” to keep TGI Fridays open.
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Last month, Fridays collapsed into administration with administrator Teneo being appointed to handle the business.
The group’s parent company Hostmore noted the collapse was due to a “very challenging set of circumstances”.
In the brand’s last update, 87 restaurants were operating as normal with TGI Fridays first opening back in the 1980s.
Currently, the restaurant chain employs around 3,000 people in the UK.
