Can TGI Fridays be saved?

When the news broke last week that the future of TGI Fridays in the UK was in doubt like many people close to the restaurant sector it didn’t come as much of a surprise. Having gained a significant foothold in the UK after its launch by Whitbread in 1986 more recently the brand has struggled, posting large losses and falling short on its expansion promises. Then, earlier this month, UK franchise owner Hostmore failed in its bid to buy TGI Fridays in the US, sending its share price plunging and Hostmore eventually filing for administration​​.

Cue journalists from across the country scrambling to their local TGI restaurant to see if it lived up to their misty-eyed nostalgic view of the brand famous for its Jack Daniel’s ribs, super-sized ice cream sundaes and cocktail flaring - and almost unanimously discovering that it didn’t​​. The general consensus among lapsed TGI fans was that the restaurant vibe was less ‘every day is Friday’ and more a wet Monday in February.

So, when it was revealed this week that investors Breal Capital and Calveton were looking to rescue the brand​​ my first thought was why? Breal Capital and Calveton already have their hands full with the purchase of D&D London​​ last year, another restaurant business that has shrunk in recent years, and TGI Fridays is a very different proposition. What do they see in the Americana brand that others don’t?

It’s a difficult question to answer. The brand has lost its way in the UK since its 1990s heyday and more recent attempts to bring it into the twenty first century have not gone to plan. Hostmore had tried to build on the brand’s cocktail-making credentials with the launch of spin-off cocktail-led bar and restaurant brand 63rd+1st but its four sites disappeared​​ from the high street little more than three years later. Likewise, its plans to enter the QSR space haven’t exactly exploded, with only one site under the Fridays and Go​​ brand opening since its launch two and a half years ago.

Then there’s its scale. With 87 sites, TGI Fridays has a large portfolio, meaning that any buyer is taking on a lot of real estate. For a brand that needs attention, that will prove to be a serious undertaking.

Yet there are reasons why TGI Fridays is an attractive prospect. In May Hostmore said it had had a ‘transitional year’​​ that saw it slash its losses and improve operations across its restaurants. When talks about Breal Capital and Calveton’s potential purchase of TGI Fridays emerged, one analyst told Sky News that between 50 and 60 of its sites were commercially viable, while company insiders have stressed that the brand could survive if a new owner were to take it on.

Given the size of the business and the number of people it employs, believed to be around the 3,200 mark, I hope that the business can be saved and continue trading.

Indeed, parallels can be drawn between TGI Fridays and struggling well-established US-style brand Frankie & Benny’s, which The Restaurant Group paid rival Big Table Group to take off its hands. Big Table is now trialling a refreshed menu​​ at the brand saying that its sites are mostly outperforming their neighbours. This is presumably something that any new owner of TGI Fridays will want to emulate.

Yet, while I respect the never-say-die attitude that the restaurant sector frequently demonstrates, some things have just had their time. At 38 years old, TGI Fridays in the UK is something of a veteran that seems to have its best years behind it. 

Any new owner will be hoping that the outpouring of nostalgia at the news of its potential demise is evidence that it still holds a place in many diners’ hearts. 

Sadly, I can’t help feeling it was more of a eulogy.