Simon Wilkinson, board director and operating partner for TGI Fridays and the Evolv Collection (formerly D&D London), which are both owned by Breal and Calveton, wrote on LinkedIn that under the leadership of CEO Julie McEwan the TGI team are ‘working their socks off to revert the decline of the group and reposition the brand’.
Describing it as ‘the comeback of all comebacks’, the relaunch will be unveiled on 4 July to coincide with Independence Day in the US.
He said: “TGI Fridays has had a tough time over the last few years.
“We acquired the business back in October and rescued it out of administration. Such processes are tough, when people should be praising the investors for putting their own money into rescuing a much-loved brand the contrary happens, and you get criticised for not saving certain locations and having to make redundancies. The good guys become the bad guys, but that’s the reality and having a thick skin helps. The team have had to put up with a lot of flak, negativity and energy sapping noise.
“Now turning around a brand that has lost it way over circa seven years is a tough ask in any market. In the current market it’s a heavy lift and requires a tremendous about of work by everyone connected with the brand. There are no guarantees, and boldness, bravery, hard work and commitment may not be enough.
“However, we as a collective are going to try our hardest.”
TGI Fridays’ UK franchise was bought by Breal and Calveton in October last year in a deal that saved 51 of the American bar and restaurant brand’s sites, with a further 36 restaurants closing.
A further two sites have subsequently closed, including the group’s flagship Leicester Square restaurant, with TGI’s now operating an estate of 49 restaurants in the UK
The deal came after TGI’s previous owner Hostmore filed for administration having abandoned an all-share acquisition of TGI Fridays’ US business.