Hostmore to move TGI Fridays to franchise model

Hostmore is planning to move TGI Friday’s to a fully franchised model if its reverse takeover of the US casual dining chain goes ahead.

The London-listed hospitality group, which runs 87 TGIs restaurants in the UK as its largest franchisee, made a $220m (£173m) bid to buy the American-themed casual dining business in April.

Hostmore said it was looking to move to an “asset light” model that would see all its company-owned sites sold off.

This would see TGIs’ 92 corporate restaurants and Hostmores’ 87 sites sold to new or existing franchisees, who would pay royalties to the combined company.

The plan is already underway and TGIs has agreed to sell a “substantial portion” of its restaurants for over $40m (£31.4m).

Under the new business model, Hostmore said it no longer needed a finance package as previously expected as it could reduce debts through the sale of the restaurants.

The sale, which is not expected to complete until Q3 2024, will see TGIs become a publicly listed company on the London Stock Exchange.

Hostmore previously ran the 63^rd + 1^st restaurant and cocktail bar concept, which was inspired by the original TGI Fridays restaurant in New York. However, its final two sites closed in June, three years after its launch.