The Wagamama, Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito owner has increased its revolving credit facility for Wagamama from £20m to £35m, thereby adding an extra £15m to its overall debt facilities.
Meanwhile, chief executive Andy Hornby has volunteered to take a 40% pay cut, which TRG says reflects the core policy for senior members of the TRG team who are not being furloughed.
Chief finance officer Kirk Davis volunteered a pay cut and will see a 20% reduction for the same period. The smaller pay reduction for the CFO reflects the increases workload for the finance function.
The non-executive directors have also proposed to reduce their fees with effect from April 1st 2020 by 40%. These arrangements will be reviewed on 1 July.
Both executive directors have also volunteered to forego their bonuses for the 2019 financial year.
“These are unprecedented times for our business and our sector,” says Hornby. “Against this backdrop we have taken decisive action to improve our liquidity, reduce our cost base and downsize our operations. I would like to wholeheartedly thank all of my TRG colleagues for their extraordinary understanding and commitment during this period.”
Chiquito looks set to be one of the first big restaurant groups to collapse amid the coronavirus shutdown after TRG filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators late last month.
Prior to the pandemic, TRG said it was looking to close up to 90 of its circa 650 sites by the end of 2021 following a challenging period for its Chiquito and Frankie & Benny’s brands.