Restaurant Chain Tgi Fridays Victim Of Changing Tastes And Cost Of Living

7th October 2024

On 7 October 2024 Thursdays UK Limited, operating under the brand ‘TGI Fridays UK', entered administration and Daniel Smith and Julian Heathcote of Teneo Financial Advisory Limited were appointed as Joint Administrators.

Immediately following the appointment, the Joint Administrators completed a sale of 51 sites, including the transfer of 2,389 employees. Thirty-five restaurants were excluded from the sale and have been closed, resulting in 1,012 redundancies.

This will be a worrying time for employees, as well as creditors. Government will do all it can to support them.

However, she said the chain has struggled with "a change in customer preferences for healthier and vegan foods". The administration makes TGI Fridays the latest victim of the challenges facing casual dining chains and UK High Streets generally.

Data from PwC found that 18 chemists, 16 pubs and nine banks shut down every week on average between January and June this year.

The popularity of online shopping shrinking High Street footfall and the financial hangover from the Covid pandemic are widely seen as the two big issues hurting UK shops and hospitality businesses.