UK's Hostmore shelves plans to buy TGI Fridays, shares plunge 70% (updated)

Hostmore

09/09/2024 08:47

(Recasts paragraph 1, adds shares prices and details
throughout)
       Sept 9 (Reuters) - Shares of Hostmore  MOREH.L  plunged
more than 70% on Monday as the British restaurant operator
dropped plans to buy TGI Fridays after it was removed as the
manager of TGIF Funding, which owns the right to collect
royalties from the pub chain franchise.
    "The predictable and highly cash-generative royalty stream
of TGI Fridays was the primary attractive feature for the Group
in pursuing the acquisition," Hostmore said.
    Hostmore, which operates pub chain TGI Fridays in the UK via
its unit Thursdays (UK), said the sale of its corporate stores
is expected to be completed in September, albeit at a lower
value than the loans held by Thursdays.
    Shares of the British hospitality company were down 70.1% at
a record low of 2.8 pence, as of 0740 GMT.  
    The company said it expects to be delisted from the London
Stock Exchange upon completion of the corporate store sales
process.
    TGI Fridays will continue its operations in the UK under a
new ownership, Hostmore added.
    
     
        
    
    

 (Reporting by DhanushVignesh Babu and Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru;
Editing by Sonia Cheema and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((DhanushVignesh.Babu@thomsonreuters.com;))