TGI Fridays set to shed hundreds of jobs in pre-pack administration plan

TGI Fridays is preparing a pre-pack administration plan to significantly slim down the business, according to Sky News.

The deal is expected to be finalised this week, with plans reportedly to close between 15 and 20 of the chain’s 49 restaurants.

This would mean hundreds of redundancies within the chain’s nearly 2,000 staff.

A TGI Fridays spokesperson told The Caterer: “TGI Fridays UK is still assessing all options for the future of the business.

“No decisions have been made yet and locations continue to operate as usual.”

In December, the chain filed two notices of intention to appoint administrators within two weeks.

The second filing, made on 19 December via law firm Reed Smith, followed an identical notice on 8 December.

In both instances the administration filing was made by Liberty Bar and Restaurant Group, the vehicle used by Sugarloaf, the manager of the worldwide TGI Fridays brand. It acquired TGI Fridays from investors Calveton UK and Breal Capital for an undisclosed sum in October, only a year after the brand was previously bought out of administration for £9.55m.

Phil Broad, president of TGI Fridays International Franchising, previously insisted that all sites would remain operational over Christmas.

At the time of the 8 December filing he said: “The directors of TGI Fridays UK can confirm that a notice of intent to appoint administrators was filed with the court. This step brings the new owners, who assumed control last month, closer to securing and strengthening the long-term future of TGI Fridays in the UK.

“The priority is to protect TGI Fridays employees and its restaurants, and we want to express gratitude to all stakeholders for their patience during this process.”

Sugarloaf appointed advisory firm Interpath to review options for the business last month.

Sugarloaf is led by Ray Blanchette, who previously ran TGI Fridays for five years until 2023 and took over management of the brand’s remaining US restaurants after it filed for bankruptcy protection in 2024.

TGI Fridays UK had relaunched on 4 July with a refreshed menu and branding.

Previous owners Calveton and Breal said the chain had seen positive like-for-like sales growth in 2025 and that festive bookings were 25% up on 2025.

Analysts recently warned TGI Fridays has an “overwhelming weakness” in its brand and will likely close further restaurants this year.