The American-themed diner collapsed into administration in September, throwing the fate of more than 3,000 hospitality workers into limbo.

Breal Capital and Calveton, the joint owners of the restaurant business D&D London, announced last week that they have successfully bought the chain.

51 TGI Fridays restaurants have been saved, meaning more than 2,000 people will keep their jobs.

But 35 restaurants were not included within the sale and have been closed with immediate effect, resulting in 1,012 redundancies.

The new owners hope to acquire more sites down the line as they hash things out with landlords.

‘TGI Fridays is a much-loved brand with a rich heritage,’ said Julie McEwan, the chief executive of TGI Fridays UK.

‘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.

‘We would like to thank our team and our loyal guests for supporting us during this transition.

‘We are proud to serve millions of customers across the UK and are committed to continuing to evolve our proposition and to give our guests a great value for money experience that keeps them coming back to enjoy TGI Fridays time and again.’

The news comes less than a month after the TGI Fridays parent company, Hostmore, appointed the advisory firm Teneo as administrators after failing to turn around the debt-raddled business.

TGI Fridays was founded in New York in 1965 – and you’ll never guess what the name means.

According to the company at least, TGI Fridays is what you can thank for the Long Island Iced Tea, the cocktail it claims to have invented.

Breal and Calveton said: ‘We are delighted to be working with such an enthusiastic and committed Management Team to both modernise the business and capitalise on the heritage of this iconic brand.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

MORE : Full list of Waitrose concessions at risk after Dobbies closes down

MORE : Chippy urged to put fruit and veg on the menu by health board bosses

MORE : Dry cleaner forced to repaint shop after she ‘harmed’ Britain’s most picturesque town

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.