TGI Fridays’ UK operations have been sold to Sugarloaf TGIF Management, the manager of the global TGI Fridays brand.
The deal will see Sugarloaf, which is run by former TGI Fridays CEO Ray Blanchette, taking control of almost 50 UK sites and preserving all 2,000 jobs, Sky News reported.
The UK business was sold to investment firms Calveton UK and Bread Capital just over a year ago.
In its latest update in August, TGI Fridays reported a 10% increase in covers and a 17% jump in grill sales one month after its relaunch and menu overhaul, which saw 50% of dishes refreshed and 70% of the grill reworked.
A spokesperson for Calveton UK and Bread Capital told Sky News: “After a prolonged period of due diligence we are pleased to announce the sale of TGI Fridays UK to Sugarloaf, the manager and custodian of the worldwide brand.
“During the 12 months of our tenure we have stabilised the team and supply chains, as well as completing the first phase of repositioning the brand through a national relaunch on July 4 this year, which has seen improvements in both revenues and covers.”
Alongside the menu refresh, the restaurant chain redeveloped its guest experience using a new team model and over 2,000 team members have been retrained. This has led to dish ratings, net promoter scores and GOS scores “climbing beyond industry restaurants”.
At the time of the relaunch, TGI Fridays UK CMO Rhiannon Scarlett said the relaunch looked to bring the brand into a “new era”, adding that the momentum built over the summer was “just the start”.
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