Administrators seek buyer for TGI Friday’s UK as operator Hostmore collapses

Administrators seek buyer for TGI Friday's UK as operator Hostmore collapses

Daniel Smith and Julian Heathcote of Teneo Financial Advisory Limited have been appointed joint administrators of Hostmore, which is the UK operator of TGI Friday’s, after talks fell through to buy its US parent company.

The administrators are conducting a process to find a new buyer for the 87 TGI Friday’s locations, eight of which are in Scotland. The restaurants continue to operate while under administration.

Matthew Bibby, CFO of 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 £12 million, 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, and efforts to create value for shareholders through the proposed acquisition of TGI Fridays, while well-advanced, encountered adverse events outside of the board’s control.”

Hostmore has been delisted from the London Stock Exchange.

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