TGI Fridays axes 1,000 jobs and closes 35 restaurants despite rescue deal

Part of restaurant chain TGI Fridays has been bought by private equity firms Calveton and Breal Capital in a deal that will save 51 of the chain’s 87 dining spots. But it’s estimated that, despite the sale, there will be over 1,000 redundancies.

Joint administrators at Teneo said the restaurants not included in the sale have been closed immediately, resulting in 1,012 job losses.

The sale has come as a shock to the parts of the business that are facing closure. Reports earlier today by hospitality industry union Unite Hospitality said that staff were shut out of sites with the locks changed. Meanwhile, there was no warning of potential redundancies or consultation with those employed by the chain.

Unite tweeted that workers were “invited to head office zoom call with one hour’s notice. Many members haven’t even received the invite.”

The company’s UK chief executive, Julie McEwan 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 look to the future with confidence that the TGI Fridays brand will continue to attract loyal and new guests.

“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,” she added.

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The full list of restaurants that will remain open is:

• 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

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