{"id":368001,"date":"2026-01-13T20:46:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T20:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/368001\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T20:46:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T20:46:07","slug":"iconic-restaurant-chain-shuts-16-uk-branches-after-plunging-into-administration-uk-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/368001\/","title":{"rendered":"Iconic restaurant chain shuts 16 UK branches after plunging into administration | UK | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Family favourite restaurant chain TGI Fridays<\/a> has been forced to abruptly shut 16 of its branches after collapsing into administration.<\/a> The pre-pack administration, which saves 33 branches, will, however, lead to the loss of more than 450 jobs.<\/p>\n

The business and assets of Liberty Bar and Restaurant Group Limited, which operates the UK arm of the American-themed dining chain, have been acquired by Sugarloaf TGIF Operations Limited. The deal, completed immediately after administrators were appointed, secures the jobs of 1,384 employees across the remaining restaurants. However, the rescue deal does not cover 16 of the group\u2019s sites.<\/p>\n

These locations have closed with immediate effect, resulting in 456 redundancies. The joint administrators said supporting the affected employees is now a priority as they oversee the closure of the non-transferring restaurants.<\/p>\n

Ryan Grant and Will Wright were appointed joint administrators to Liberty Bar and Restaurant Group Limited today, January 13 2026.<\/p>\n

In a statement Phil Broad, Global President of TGI Fridays, said he believes the future of the iconic chain is in “strong hands” with the focus now turning to reinvigorate the brand.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cWe have been working closely to explore all available options for securing the long-term future of TGI Fridays in the UK, and believe that this is the best outcome for the business, preserves jobs, and offers a strong platform for success and growth.<\/p>\n

“TGI Fridays has a long history in the UK, and I believe that the future of the brand is in strong hands – focused on reinvigorating the brand while continuing to deliver the bold flavours, welcoming atmosphere, and high-energy dining experience that define TGI Fridays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryan Grant, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: \u201cWe are pleased to have been able to secure this transaction which will see this well-known brand continue to trade across the UK.<\/p>\n

“While these have been difficult times for hospitality operators generally, this marks a pivotal step in TGI Friday\u2019s wider turnaround plan, putting in place stable foundations upon which it can begin to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company behind TGI Fridays filed to appoint administrators twice in December.<\/p>\n

TGI Fridays first opened in the UK in 1986, with its first restaurant launched on Hagley Road in Birmingham before expanding across Britain.<\/p>\n

In its peak the famous chain once operated around 80\u201387 UK restaurants, but the number has now shrunk massively, reflecting years of closures and financial pressure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Family favourite restaurant chain TGI Fridays has been forced to abruptly shut 16 of its branches after collapsing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368002,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[390,84,59,1126,1125,135170,140753,140754,140752,56,1128,2025,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-368001","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-gb","11":"tag-high-street","12":"tag-store-closures","13":"tag-tgi-fridays","14":"tag-tgi-fridays-administration","15":"tag-tgi-fridays-closing","16":"tag-tgi-fridays-closures","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-uk-high-street","19":"tag-uk-store-closures","20":"tag-united-kingdom","21":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}