Two TGI Fridays restaurants to shut in Scotland, as full list of 35 closures revealed

TGI Fridays will remain on UK high streets following a rescue deal for the chain, but more than 1,000 staff have lost their jobs with the immediate closure of 35 restaurants.

Among the list of closures is two restaurants in Scotland - the outlet at Fort Kinnaird in Edinburgh and the eatery in Dundee.

However, six other restaurants will remain open north of the Border, with locations at Aberdeen Union Square, Glasgow Fort, Braehead, Glasgow’s Buchanan Street, Aberdeen Beach and Edinburgh’s Castle Street surviving the cull.

Breal Capital and Calveton UK have acquired 51 restaurants after the group’s previous operator fell into administration.

It means that nearly 2,400 jobs have been saved across the US-themed restaurant and cocktail bar.

A total of 35 TGI Friday's restaurants in the UK are closing, including one in Scotland. Picture: PA | PA

But joint administrators at Teneo said 35 restaurants were not included in the sale and have been closed immediately, resulting in 1,012 redundancies.

Julie McEwan, chief executive of TGI Fridays UK, said: “The news today marks the start of a positive future for our business following a very challenging period for the casual dining sector as a whole.

“We are devastated for our colleagues who will be leaving TGIs and thank them for their loyalty and contribution during their time with us.

“We are doing everything possible to retain our team and support those impacted.”

Daniel Smith, senior managing director of Teneo, said the acquisition “preserves a significant proportion of jobs and will hopefully provide the business with the stability and support it needs to recover and grow”.

New private equity owners Breal and Calveton jointly own upmarket restaurant chain D&D London, and between them have had investments in Byron Burger and wine bar chain Vinoteca.

Trade union Unite said on X that it had been hearing from members who had been “furiously contacting” the hospitality organisers in response to the immediate closures.

It reported that staff had been shut out of restaurants, with padlocks on the doors changed, or given no form of redundancy consultation, while others were invited to a video call with members of the head office with one hour’s notice.

Other workers said they had not been told whether or not they will be paid, according to the trade union.

TGI Fridays’ previous UK operator, Hostmore, appointed administrators last month and had been hoping to secure a buyer for the chain.

Here is the full list of closures across the UK, including Scotland:

Full list of 35 TGI Friday sites closing

1. Barnsley
2. Birmingham
3. Bracknell
4. Brighton Marina
5. Bristol Cabot Circus
6. Cardiff Newport Road
7. Chelmsford
8. Cheltenham
9. Croydon
10. Derby
11. Dundee
12. Durham
13. Edinburgh Fort Kinnaird
14. Enfield
15. Gateshead
16. Gloucester Quays
17. Halifax
18. Jersey
19. Leeds
20. Leeds Trinity
21. Leicester
22. Lincoln
23. Manchester Royal Exchange
24. Newcastle Eldon Square
25. Newport
26. Northampton
27. Prestwich
28. Romford
29. Sale
30. Solihull
31. Southampton West Quay South
32. Speke
33. Sutton Coldfield
34. Swansea
35. Watford North

Full list of 51 TGI Friday restaurants to stay open

1. Bluewater
2. Trafford Centre
3. Meadowhall
4. Aberdeen Union Square
5. Metrocentre
6. Basildon
7. Glasgow Fort
8. Milton Keynes Stadium
9. Braehead
10. Wembley
11. Birmingham NEC
12. Glasgow
13. Junction 27
14. Castleford
15. Lakeside Quay
16. Teesside
17. Bolton
18. Norwich
19. St Davids
20. Doncaster
21. Lakeside
22. Fareham
23. Liverpool One
24. Stevenage
25. White Rose
26. Cribbs Causeway
27. Rushden Lakes
28. Stoke on Trent
29. Southampton
30. Silverburn
31. Watford Central
32. Aberdeen Beach
33. Braintree
34. Bournemouth
35. Stratford
36. High Wycombe
37. Cheshire Oaks
38. Walsall
39. Milton Keynes
40. Sheffield
41. Nottingham
42. Edinburgh
43. Coventry
44. Ashton-Under-Lyne
45. Telford
46. The O2
47. Staines
48. Crawley
49. Reading
50. Cheadle
51. Leicester Square