Step to the Rescue for TGI Fridays: Strong Deals on the Horizon

The struggling restaurant chain TGI Fridays is facing a potential partial success that could save numerous jobs. Following failed expansion plans in the US, Hostmore, the UK licensee of the brand, fell into financial trouble last month and was put under administration. With the future prospects of 87 branches and 3,000 employees hanging in the balance, Teneo's administrators are now working to recover as much capital as possible for the creditors. Over the weekend, it was revealed that the owners of the upscale restaurant company D&D London might be close to reaching an agreement to take over between 50 and 55 of the ailing locations. Breal Capital and Calveton, who acquired D&D last year, were negotiating intensively and preparing to announce the deal soon, as reported by Sky News. The sale could secure up to 2,000 endangered jobs and would include the existing leases and TGI Fridays' brand rights in the UK. Such an acquisition would represent a remarkable departure from D&D London's previous focus on running individual restaurants like Bluebird in Chelsea, Coq d'Argent in St Paul's, and Skylon on the Southbank. Neither D&D London nor TGI Fridays commented on the developments. Hostmore continues to face significant financial challenges with an outstanding debt of 35 million pounds at the end of last year. Even if all locations are fully sold, the capital raised is unlikely to cover all debts completely. Hostmore, which was spun off from the private equity trust Electra in November 2021, recorded a 90 percent stock decline within a year. Originally, a 180 million-pound reverse takeover with the larger US partner was planned, but it failed when it became apparent that TGI Fridays could no longer pay royalties to the target company.