TGI Fridays collapsed into administration, resulting in the immediate closure of a number of eateries
08:37, 14 Jan 2026Updated 09:59, 14 Jan 2026
TGI Fridays Cribbs Causeway, Bristol is one of those saved(Image: Streetview)
A restaurant chain which has been a fixture on the high street in the UK for 40 years has announced 16 outlets will shut immediately. TGI Fridays has collapsed into a pre-pack administration, resulting in the immediate closure of a number of eateries.
However it also means that 33 will be saved for the time being – including six in Scotland – see below for the full list. Since opening its first restaurant on Birmingham’s Hagley Road in 1986, TGI Fridays has been a staple of UK high streets and shopping centres.
Liberty Bar and Restaurant Group Limited, which operates the British division of the American-style dining chain, has seen its business and assets purchased by Sugarloaf TGIF Operations Limited.
The deal, finalised instantly upon the administrators’ appointment, protects jobs for 1,384 employees across the remaining restaurant estate.
Yet the rescue deal excludes 16 branches from the group’s portfolio. These locations have shut their doors with immediate effect, resulting in 456 job losses.
The joint administrators have confirmed that supporting those made redundant is now their top concern whilst overseeing the wind-down of the excluded venues.
On January 13, 2026, Ryan Grant and Will Wright from Interpath Advisory were named joint administrators to the company.
They promptly concluded the sale of the business and its assets to Sugarloaf TGIF Operations Limited, a dedicated entity controlled by Sugarloaf, the current manager and custodian of the worldwide TGI Fridays brand.
The transaction was arranged as a “pre-pack” administration, a procedure enabling a company to offload its assets to a purchaser whilst leaving behind historical liabilities.
Phil Broad, Global President of TGI Fridays, described the acquisition as the most viable path forward for the chain.
TGI Fridays currently has 49 casual dining restaurants across the UK, with about 2,000 members of staff. After its previous UK operator fell into administration, its remaining restaurants were acquired by private equity firms Breal Capital and Calveton UK in 2024.
This led to the closure of 35 sites, resulting in about 1,000 staff being made redundant. TGI Fridays first opened in New York in 1965 with a party-led theme and continues to operate a string of restaurants in the US.
It had hailed a “comeback” last July with a new menu and plans to revitalise some of its restaurants.
The 33 remaining open locations
South of England & Wales
- Cardiff St David’s
- Cribbs Causeway (Bristol)
- Fareham
- Southampton Retail Park
Scotland
- Glasgow Buchanan Street
- Glasgow Fort
- Braehead
- Silverburn
- Aberdeen Union Square
- Edinburgh (City)
London & Southeast
- London The O2
- Wembley
- Basildon
- Bluewater
- Lakeside Quay Centre
- Lakeside Retail Park
- High Wycombe
- Milton Keynes
- Milton Keynes Stadium
North West of England
- Manchester Trafford Centre
- Cheadle
- Cheshire Oaks
- Bolton
- Liverpool One
- Leeds White Rose
- Leeds Junction 27
- Castleford
- Meadowhall (Sheffield)
North East
- Metrocentre Gateshead
- Teesside
Midlands & East
- Birmingham NEC
- Norwich
- Rushden Lakes
The 16 TGI Fridays branches closed immediately:
- Aberdeen Beach
- Ashton
- Bournemouth
- Braintree
- Coventry
- Crawley
- Doncaster
- Edinburgh
- Nottingham
- Reading
- Sheffield
- Staines
- Stevenage
- Stratford
- Telford
- Walsall