TGI Fridays has closed 16 of its UK restaurants, putting 456 employees out of work.

The American-inspired casual dining chain’s remaining 33 restaurants will continue to operate after the business was sold in a rescue deal.

Interpath was appointed as administrator to Liberty Bar and Restaurant group, which managed the operations of TGI Fridays’ UK restaurants, on Tuesday.

TGI Fridays’ business and assets were immediately sold to a company owned by Sugarloaf, the manager of the global TGI Fridays brand. Some 1,384 jobs were safeguarded in the deal, administrators said.

Phil Broad, TGI Fridays’ Global President, said: “We have been working closely to explore all available options for securing the long-term future of TGI Fridays in the UK, and believe that this is the best outcome for the business, preserves jobs, and offers a strong platform for success and growth.”

Ryan Grant, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: “We are pleased to have been able to secure this transaction which will see this well-known brand continue to trade across the UK.

“While these have been difficult times for hospitality operators generally, this marks a pivotal step in TGI Fridays’ wider turnaround plan, putting in place stable foundations upon which it can begin to move forward.”

The 16 TGI Fridays sites that closed immediately are:

– Ashton Under Lyne, Greater Manchester

– Doncaster, South Yorkshire

– Staines, Surrey

– Stevenage, Hertfordshire

– Walsall, West Midlands

– Bournemouth, Dorset

– Telford, Shropshire

– Reading, Berkshire

– Coventry, Warwickshire

– Edinburgh, Scotland

– Crawley, West Sussex

– Aberdeen Beach, Scotland

– Nottingham, Nottinghamshire

– Sheffield, South Yorkshire

– Stratford, Greater London

– Braintree, Essex

Over summer 2025, casual and fast-food restaurants saw a 6% drop in customers compared to the previous summer, according to research from Worldpanel by Numerator.

In December, trade body UKHospitality warned the hospitality sector could lose a further 100,000 workers as a result of the Autumn Budget.

The government has said it is “protecting pubs, restaurants and cafés with the Budget’s £4.3bn support package”.

Last month, the High Street food chain Leon said it will close 20 restaurants and cut jobs as part of a major restructure.

Its co-founder said he believed the company had drifted from its core values under EG and Asda’s leadership, and also cited internal challenges, changing work patterns driven by the Covid pandemic and tax increases – all of which have affected the broader hospitality sector.

Leon’s administration process comes after Pizza Hut’s UK restaurants operator DC London Pie announced it was closing 68 restaurants and 11 delivery sites in October, making more than 1,200 workers redundant.

Administrators said DC London Pie had been hit by a combination of “challenging trading conditions and increased costs”, including “tax-related obligations”.