TGI Fridays Sells U.K. Franchise To Equity Group

In the latest private equity buyout in Britain’s restaurant sector, the casual-dining chain TGI Fridays has sold its U.K. franchise business to Electra Partners. Texas-based TGI Fridays, itself sold last year to investment firms Sentinel Capital Partners and TriArtisan Capital Partners, operates 66 venues in Britain; it has more than 900 restaurants in 60 countries.

Foodservice chains in the U.K. have been hot commodities for private equity investors in the past few years. Last year, two of the country’s most famous brands went on the market. The casual dining Italian-style Prezzo was purchased in November by Texas-based TPG for £304 million (US$483 million); Pizza Express was acquired by China-based Hony Capital for a record £900 million (US$1.5 billion) last June. ASK Italian and Zizzi restaurants were sold to London-based private equity firm Bridgepoint for £250 million (US$375 million) in December.