The United Kingdom division of casual-dining chain TGI Fridays is saved for now after private equity firms, Breal Capital and Calveton U.K., have jointly acquired 51 out of the 87 TGI Fridays stores put up for sale by former U.K. TGI Fridays master franchisee, Hostmore PLC.
According to The Independent, although nearly 2,400 jobs were saved across the remaining 51 U.K. locations of the American chain, the remaining 36 stores were shuttered immediately, leaving 1,012 former TGI Fridays employees now out of work.
U.K.-based hospitality union, Unite Hospitality, claim that staff were not notified of these immediate closures, were shut out of their stores with the locks changed, and many did not receive notice about the company-wide Zoom call. Employees were also allegedly not told if they would be paid.
“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,” Julie McEwan, CEO of TGI Fridays UK, said in a media statement sent to The Independent. “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.”
Hostmore PLC filed for administration (roughly the British equivalent of a Chapter 11 declaration) two weeks ago shortly after its planned reverse takeover of Dallas-based franchisor, TGI Fridays, fell through. The all-share merger would have combined the U.K. franchisee with its U.S.-based parent company in a $220 million USD deal.
Following the rescue deal that saved more than half of the affected stores, new private equity owners jointly told The Independent that they were “delighted” to be working with the company and hope to “both modernize the business and capitalize on the heritage of this iconic brand”.
TGI Fridays has had a tumultuous year outside of the U.K. as well. Last year, the company had three CEOs in the span of three months, with Weldon Spangler replacing Brandon Coleman III just two months after Coleman was hired and then abruptly resigned “for personal reasons.” Earlier this year, Fridays closed 36 underperforming units, before agreeing to merge with Hostmore in April in a deal that never happened.
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