The turnaround programme underway at TGI Friday’s in the UK is delivering significant profit growth. Recently-filed accounts for the UK arm reveal a 50% upturn in annual underlying profits to £10.2m, on sales up 7.9% to £99.5m.
The latest figures – for the year 31 December 2009 – also reveal that the group is debt free. TGI Friday's UK, which is currently thought to be in refinancing discussions, has repaid a secured loan of £9.5m, leaving it with net cash of £2.5m.
The company, which is led by Karen Forrester, a former Whitbread and Mitchells & Butlers executive, said it was “delighted with this performance in the current economic climate”.
The group operates the franchise for TGI Friday's in the UK through 46 restaurants in a mix of high street, shopping centre and leisure park locations.
It is part owned by the American brand owner of TGI’s, Carlson, which has a 40% stake, with the remaining 60% held by AAC, a private equity firm. AAC effectively replaced Whitbread when it exited the business about three years ago. Reports suggest Carlson is set to buyout AAC’s stake.
The business is currently in the midst of a turnaround, and is updating its restaurant portfolio. It unveiled a new look at its Birmingham restaurant just over a year ago and has since carried out a string of capital investment projects, including work at its restaurants in Coventry, Glasgow, Kingston and London’s Covent Garden.
It has also returned to site expansion, opening new restaurants in Cardiff and Manchester. The group recently agreed to take a site at the new Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, East London.
The accounts reveal pre-tax profits of £7.1m against £1.1m the year before.
