11 September 2023 , 10:47
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The restaurant chains Frankie and Benny's and Chiquito have been sold in a deal that will affect 75 sites.
The Restaurant Group (TRG) has completed a deal to sell Frankie & Benny's and Chiquito to its rival The Big Table Group which owns other popular high street dining chains like Las Iguanas and Bella Italia.
Announced in an update today, TRG said as part of the transaction, it will pay a "cash contribution" of £7.5million to the Big Table Group for it to buy its loss-making businesses. TRG said the move was part of an "ongoing review" of its business options. It also noted that the sale would help TRG focus on its other "stronger" brands including Wagamama.
The sale is expected to be completed by the end of the tax year - so March 31 2024. The update confirmed that the sale included the restaurant sites, and the teams required to run them. This means there will likely be no immediate redundancies or closures as a result of the sale.
Andy Hornby, chief executive officer of TRG, said: “I would like to express our massive thanks to the extraordinarily hardworking and dedicated teams across the Leisure business who have made huge improvements in the customer proposition over the last few years. We wish them all well as part of the Big Table Group.”
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Alan Morgan, CEO of the Big Table Group added: "This exciting acquisition forms part of that strategy and we are delighted to be welcoming this new team into The Big Table Group."
According to Frankie and Benny's website, there are 65 branches in the UK and Chiquito has 15. However, TRG has closed 40 over the last year due to the pressures of the cost of living crisis. We have asked TRG to send us the full list of the 75 restaurant sites affected by the sale - we will update this article when we know more.
Full list of Frankie & Benny's restaurants:
- Derby
- Leicester
Leicester - Highcross Shopping Centre
- Northampton
- Nottingham
- Gateshead
- Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
- Aberdeen
- Dunfermline
- Edinburgh Ocean Terminal
- Edinburgh Fort Kinnaird
- Falkirk
- Inverness
- Dundee
- Glasgow Airport
- Glasgow Fort
- Renfrew
- Bridgend
- Chester
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Nantgarw
- Cardiff
- Basildon
- Colchester
- Watford
- Bury
- Stevenage
- Ashford
- Gillingham
- Portsmouth
- Whiteley
- Broadstairs
- Rochester
- Oxford
- Birmingham Great Park
- Birmingham The Fort Shopping Centre
- Dudley
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Trentham
- Croydon
- London Burleigh House
- London O2
- London Paddington
- London Wembley
- London Greenwich Bugsby Way
- Romford
- Belfast Victoria Square Shopping Centre
- Belfast Boucher Place
- Bristol Kingswood Aspects Leisure Park
- Bristol Cabot Circus
- Bristol Cribbs Causeway
- Plymouth
- Swindon
- Trowbridge
- Castleford
- Leeds
- Sheffield Meadowhall
- Sheffield Valley Centertainment
- Doncaster
- Rotherham
- Ashton under Lyne
- Ellesmere Port
- Denton
- Manchester
- Liverpool
Full list of Chiquito restaurants:
- Leicester
- Northampton
- Ellesmere Port
- Bolton
- Manchester
- Camberley
- Portsmouth
- Dudley
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Gateshead
- Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
- Livingston
- Broughton
- Ashton under Lyne
- Sheffield