TGI Fridays global management company is acquiring the chain’s U.K. operations.
Sugarloaf TGIF Management, which is run by TGI Fridays CEO Ray Blanchette, is the new owner of the brand’s 49 locations across the pond. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
It comes just over a year after a deal to merge the brand’s U.S. and U.K. arms fell through, part of a cascade of problems for TGI Fridays U.S. that ultimately led to a Chatper 11 bankruptcy filing last November.
The U.K. division, then owned by Hostmore PLC, also went into bankruptcy around that time, closing 35 locations in the process. It was then sold to investment firms Breal Capital and Calveton.
The chain’s corporate-owned U.S. restaurants, meanwhile, have been sold out of bankruptcy to various franchisees, including Sugarloaf. Blanchette was named CEO of the brand worldwide at the start of this year. He was previously CEO from 2018 to 2023 and also spent 18 years with the brand earlier in his career.
In a statement, Sugarloaf said the latest acquisition is intended to “strengthen the TGI Fridays business in the UK for the long term.” It added that it is creating a U.K.-led management team.
“We recognize there’s work to do to get the business where it needs to be, and we’re committed to doing that carefully and responsibly,” Sugarloaf said.
The bulk of TGI Fridays 400 locations are overseas, and international growth has been a clear priority for the company since Blanchette took the reins. In September, it announced plans to open more than 50 restaurants in Japan and Peru, and late last month, it unveiled deals to add more than 100 locations in India and Mexico.
The Dallas-based bar and grill chain has struggled both at home and abroad, but its problems have been far worse here. More than half of its U.S. locations closed before and during bankruptcy proceedings, and sales fell more than 43% from 2023 to 2024. As of February, TGI Fridays had 129 restaurants nationwide.
Blanchette has worked to consolidate the chain’s global strategy, and has led a revamp of its menu and bar program with the goal of re-energizing the brand.
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