Key Points
- TGI Fridays has closed 16 restaurants across the UK, resulting in 456 job losses as part of an administration and rescue deal process.
- The remaining 33 TGI Fridays restaurants in the UK will continue trading after a sale of the business and assets in a rescue transaction.
- Interpath Advisory was appointed administrator to Liberty Bar and Restaurant Group, which operated TGI Fridays’ UK restaurants, before immediately selling the business to a company owned by Sugarloaf, manager of the global TGI Fridays brand.
- Administrators state that 1,384 jobs have been safeguarded through the sale, despite the 456 redundancies tied to 16 immediate closures.
- Phil Broad, TGI Fridays’ Global President, says the transaction is considered the best option to secure the long‑term future of the UK business, preserve jobs and create a platform for future growth.
- Ryan Grant, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, describes the sale as a pivotal step in TGI Fridays’ wider turnaround plan amid difficult trading conditions for hospitality.
- The 16 restaurants that have closed are in Ashton Under Lyne, Doncaster, Staines, Stevenage, Walsall, Bournemouth, Telford, Reading, Coventry, Edinburgh, Crawley, Aberdeen Beach, Nottingham, Sheffield, Stratford (Greater London) and Braintree.
- The closures come against a backdrop of a 6% drop in casual and fast‑food restaurant visits over summer 2025 compared with the previous year, according to Worldpanel by Numerator research.
- UKHospitality has warned that the sector could lose a further 100,000 workers following measures in the Autumn Budget, underlining mounting pressures on restaurants and bars.
- The UK government insists it is supporting pubs, restaurants and cafés through a £4.3bn support package announced in the Budget.
- The TGI Fridays restructuring follows other high‑street decisions, including Leon’s announcement that it will close 20 restaurants and cut jobs as part of a major restructure.
- Leon’s co‑founder has linked its difficulties to drifting from core values under EG and Asda ownership, changing work patterns since Covid, and higher taxes, issues also affecting the broader hospitality sector.
- Pizza Hut’s UK restaurants operator DC London Pie has separately announced the closure of 68 restaurants and 11 delivery sites, with more than 1,200 redundancies, citing challenging trading conditions, increasing costs and tax‑related obligations.
London (Independent Business Desk) January 14, 2026 – TGI Fridays has shut 16 of its UK restaurants with immediate effect, cutting 456 jobs, while a rescue sale of the rest of the business means 33 outlets will continue trading under new ownership in a fresh attempt to secure the chain’s future.
How has the TGI Fridays UK rescue deal unfolded?
As described in reports from UK business media, Interpath Advisory has been appointed as administrator to Liberty Bar and Restaurant Group, the company that ran TGI Fridays’ UK operations, before orchestrating an immediate sale of the business and assets to a new company owned by Sugarloaf, which manages the global TGI Fridays brand. The structure of the deal means that while 16 sites have closed permanently, the remaining 33 restaurants will carry on trading under the TGI Fridays name, preserving a significant portion of the workforce.
According to administrators’ statements carried in national outlets, some 1,384 jobs have been safeguarded through the transaction, offsetting the 456 redundancies associated with the shuttered venues. The move is framed as a classic pre‑pack style restructuring in which the viable parts of a business are transferred swiftly to new ownership, limiting disruption to trading and keeping a substantial number of sites open.
What have TGI Fridays and the administrators said?
As reported in corporate and hospitality trade coverage, Phil Broad, TGI Fridays’ Global President, stressed that the company had “been working closely to explore all available options for securing the long‑term future of TGI Fridays in the UK” before concluding that the sale “is the best outcome for the business, preserves jobs, and offers a strong platform for success and growth.” This statement underlines the brand’s view that the closures are part of a wider attempt to stabilise the UK arm rather than a full‑scale withdrawal.
In parallel, Ryan Grant, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, has been quoted in business sections saying, “We are pleased to have been able to secure this transaction which will see this well‑known brand continue to trade across the UK,” adding that “while these have been difficult times for hospitality operators generally, this marks a pivotal step in TGI Fridays’ wider turnaround plan, putting in place stable foundations upon which it can begin to move forward.” Grant’s comments place the deal squarely within a broader sectoral downturn and position the restructuring as a necessary reset.
Which TGI Fridays UK sites have closed and how many jobs are affected?
Coverage of the administration process lists 16 specific TGI Fridays locations that have ceased trading immediately, all of which are now closed to the public and staff. These sites are: Ashton Under Lyne (Greater Manchester), Doncaster (South Yorkshire), Staines (Surrey), Stevenage (Hertfordshire), Walsall (West Midlands), Bournemouth (Dorset), Telford (Shropshire), Reading (Berkshire), Coventry (Warwickshire), Edinburgh (Scotland), Crawley (West Sussex), Aberdeen Beach (Scotland), Nottingham (Nottinghamshire), Sheffield (South Yorkshire), Stratford (Greater London) and Braintree (Essex).
Across these 16 sites, administrators say that 456 employees have lost their jobs following the decision to close. At the same time, reports note that 1,384 jobs linked to the remaining 33 restaurants have been safeguarded by the sale to the Sugarloaf‑owned company, meaning that the majority of the UK workforce will stay in post under the new ownership structure.
How does this reflect wider pressures on UK hospitality?
Sector analyses from recent months point to a steadily deteriorating environment for casual and fast‑food brands, with higher costs, changing customer behaviour and tax obligations all eroding margins. Over summer 2025, research from Worldpanel by Numerator indicated a 6% drop in customer visits to casual and fast‑food restaurants compared with the previous summer, a trend that has hit chains reliant on frequent, discretionary spending.
Trade body UKHospitality has previously warned that, following the Autumn Budget, the hospitality sector could lose a further 100,000 workers as businesses adjust to cost pressures and fiscal changes. In response, the government has stated that it is “protecting pubs, restaurants and cafés with the Budget’s £4.3bn support package”, arguing that grants, reliefs and targeted measures are in place to support operators, even as closures and restructurings continue across the high street.
How do Leon and Pizza Hut closures illustrate the broader trend?
The TGI Fridays restructuring is not an isolated event; it sits alongside a string of recent announcements by high‑street restaurant brands facing similar headwinds. In widely cited coverage, Leon recently confirmed that it would close 20 restaurants and cut jobs as part of a “major restructure” aimed at reshaping the business after a period of rapid expansion and challenging market conditions. Its co‑founder has publicly argued that the company “drifted from its core values” under the ownership of EG and Asda, adding that internal challenges, new work patterns shaped by the Covid pandemic and tax increases have weighed heavily on performance.
Leon’s process follows, and partly mirrors, developments at Pizza Hut’s UK operations. As reported by business and consumer news desks, Pizza Hut’s UK restaurants operator DC London Pie announced in October that it would shut 68 restaurants and 11 delivery sites, resulting in more than 1,200 redundancies. Administrators for DC London Pie have pointed to a combination of “challenging trading conditions and increased costs”, including “tax‑related obligations”, illustrating how rising input costs and fiscal pressures are pushing large operators into substantial restructuring programmes.
What might this mean for workers, customers and the high street?
For staff at the 16 closed TGI Fridays sites, the immediate impact is the loss of employment and uncertainty over future opportunities in a sector already under pressure. Union representatives and sector observers typically highlight that such closures exacerbate regional labour market challenges, especially in town and city centres where hospitality jobs have played a major role in absorbing workers after previous downturns.
For customers, the closures reduce the number of locations where TGI Fridays is available, especially in smaller cities or retail parks where the brand may have been a key destination. At the same time, the continuation of 33 UK restaurants under the new ownership suggests that the chain intends to focus on more viable sites and potentially introduce operational changes, menu adjustments or promotions in an effort to strengthen performance in a tough trading climate.
