TGI Fridays collapses into administration with 8 Scottish sites at risk

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The UK operator of TGI Fridays has collapsed into administration as the restaurant chain scrambles to sell its 87 locations - eight of which are in Scotland.After plans to buy the US restaurant chain collapsed earlier this month, owner Hostmore said it had appointed administrators from Teneo.

This week, as reported by the Mirror, the restaurant chain put 87 of its UK franchise restaurants up for sale in a bid to keep the brand alive on the high streets.These sales were planned to be completed by the end of this month.

It is not clear at this stage, however, whether some or all of the restaurants are likely to find a buyer. The American-inspired restaurant 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,