The American fast food chain TGI Fridays, which has thirteen restaurants in Spain, has filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Law.
The company attributes its poor financial situation to the COVID-19 pandemic in a statement and plans to “explore strategic alternatives to ensure the long-term viability of the brand.”
“The next steps announced today are difficult, but not necessary to protect the interests of the parties involved, including our national and international franchises and our valuable teams of people around the world,” said TGI Fridays CEO Rohit Manocha.
The bankruptcy declaration affects the parent company of TGI Fridays, which has 39 restaurants, but not the franchises that manage the rest of the locations, explains the statement, which highlights that they have obtained the necessary financing for all the restaurants to continue operating while the bankruptcy process is carried out.
The company’s own store locator reported a week ago that it had 213 restaurants in its home market, while on Monday only 164 were listed as open on its website and on Saturday there were only 30. Fridays began 2024 with 270 establishments in the country.
A few weeks ago, Bloomberg already anticipated the difficulties that Fridays was having in securing a capital injection to guarantee the continuity of its operations while it considered filing for Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Law.
