The Restaurant Group

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The Restaurant Group plc
TypePublic
LSE: RTN
IndustryRestaurant
Founded1987
HeadquartersLondon, England
Key people
Debbie Hewitt (Chairman)
Andy Hornby (CEO)
Kirk Davis (CFO)
RevenueDecrease £459.8 million (2020)[1]
Decrease £(49.7) million (2020)[1]
Decrease £(119.9) million (2020)[1]
Number of employees
14,000 (2021)[2]
Websitewww.trgplc.com

The Restaurant Group plc is a British chain of restaurants and public houses. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

History[]

The company was founded by Matthew Brown from Chatteris in 1987 as City Centre Restaurants plc with the objective of owning and managing the Garfunkel's Restaurant chain.[3] In the late 1980s, the company bought the Mexican foodchain Chi Chi's and renamed it Chiquito.[3] Then, in 1995, it opened its first Frankie & Benny's in Leicester.[3]

In January 2004, the company changed its name to The Restaurant Group plc.[4] In February 2004, it made an unsuccessful bid for Ask Central plc,[5] and in 2006, it bought back the Deep Pan Pizza chain, which it had previously sold to the management.[6] In 2016, the company announced it was closing 33 restaurants due to falling sales and profits.[7]

In 2018, The Restaurant Group purchased noodle chain Wagamama for £559m, to diversify its portfolio.[8]

In May 2018, the Brunning & Price division purchased the Ribble Valley Inns, a collection of restaurant and real ale pubs in the north of England, from the Northcote Group for an undisclosed sum;[9] and in August 2018, the division purchased the 11-strong portfolio of Food & Fuel Pubs, which included two Coco Momo wine bars, for £15.4 million.[10]

On 3 June 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, The Restaurant Group told employees a "large number" of its outlets would not reopen after lockdown;[11] up to 120 restaurants, mainly Frankie & Benny's, were set to close permanently,[12] with the loss of between 2,000 and 3,000 jobs.[13] On 8 June, The Restaurant Group said it was in discussions with its landlords about potential restructuring options,[13] and three days later announced it had entered a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) and planned to cut 125 sites.[14]

In October 2020 the business suffered a significant shareholder revolt over the proposed pay package of its chief executive, Andy Hornby. After a year involving over 4,000 job losses and approximately 230 restaurant closures more than a third of investors opposed the package.[15]

Operations[]

Frankie & Benny's at Spytty Business Park outside Newport

As of December 2019, The Restaurant Group plc operated over 400 restaurants and pub restaurants throughout the UK. It also operates a multi‐brand Concessions business which trades principally in UK airports. In addition, the Wagamama business had 6 restaurants in the US and over 50 franchise restaurants operating across a number of territories.[1]

Subsidiaries[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d "Annual Results 2020". Restaurant Group. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Our people". The Restaurant Group. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Catering & Hospitality News". Caterer Search. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  4. ^ "FE Investegate -CityCentreRestaurant Announcements - CityCentreRestaurant: Result of EGM & Name Change". investegate.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  5. ^ "PizzaExpress trumps Restaurant Group with £225m offer for Ask". The Caterer. 13 February 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  6. ^ "TRG buys back Deep Pan Pizza". www.pizzamarketplace.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  7. ^ Kollewe, Julia. "Frankie & Benny's owner closes 33 restaurants". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Wagamama noodle chain sold to Frankie & Benny owner". The Guardian. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  9. ^ Witts, Sophie (23 May 2018). "Northcote Group sells four Ribble Valley Inns sites". Big Hospitality. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Company Archive". Brunning & Price Ltd. August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  11. ^ Jones, Lora (2 June 2020). "Frankie & Benny's owner: Some sites won't reopen". BBC News. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  12. ^ Butler, Sarah (3 June 2020). "Frankie & Benny's owner to permanently close 120 restaurants". Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  13. ^ a b McAllister, James (8 June 2020). "TRG in talks with landlords over 'potential restructuring options' for leisure estate". Big Hospitality. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  14. ^ McAllister, James (11 June 2020). "TRG eyes 125 closures as CVA announced". Big Hospitality. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Shareholders revolt over Restaurant Group's CEO pay plans". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2020-10-30.

External links[]

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