World Leaks

A HUGE UK restaurant chain has collapsed into administration with 87 stores put up for sale.

The future of TGI Fridays restaurants in the UK is in doubt amid fears the hospitality group behind it could collapse.

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TGI Fridays may be closing down with sites up for sale[/caption]

Administrators are now on standby at the British arm of TGI, which has 87 outlets in the UK, amid concerns the famous name could vanish from the high street.

Hostmore, which owns TGI in this country, is now scrambling to sell the franchise so it can continue to operate under new ownership.

The restaurant chain first opened in the UK in the 1980s and has been a popular destination for birthday parties and cocktail nights for the last 40 years.

The first branch of T.G.I. Friday’s was opened in New York in 1965 to celebrate weekend dining – the name means ‘Thank God It’s Friday – and in 1986 the brand was imported to the UK.

In a stock market update last Monday, Hostmore said sales so far this year are 12 per cent lower than the same period last year, blaming ‘persistent warmer weather than the comparative period in 2023 and underlying weak consumer spending’. 

The company also said it had abandoned plans to buy all the TGI restaurants in the US, where there are 128 sites, in a deal that would have been worth £177million.

Hostmore, has seen its share price collapse in the last week after it announced it had dropped ambitious plans to buy up outlets in the US.

Shares in the London-listed company were all but wiped out following the announcement.

The share price has fallen by 96 per cent since the start of this month to close yesterday at 22p.

After first opening in Birmingham, TGI Fridays spread rapidly around the country with its popular format of casual American bistro-style dining.

Serving staff were known as Dub Dubs, and taught the art of entertaining their customers with jokes, banter, and other gimmicks like juggling and magic tricks, all performed with impeccable table craft and cheeriness.

In the early 1990s, the Covent Garden branch of T.G.I. Friday’s was reported to be the busiest restaurant in Europe.

The chain was acquired by a private equity firm ten years ago, with a rebrand removing all the punctuation from the restaurant name to make it TGI Fridays.

In 2021, the company was spun out into Hostmore, a listed company and the restaurants were briefly renamed just ‘Fridays’ before marketing chiefs found customers still called it ‘TGI’s’ and restored the original name.

In recent times the chain restaurant’s fortunes have faded, and Hostmore revealed that UK sales have fallen by more than a tenth this year, compared with last year.

Now Hostmore is in the process of selling its UK restaurants to new owners, with the aim of becoming a fully franchise-operated model.

The sale process, which is predicted to be completed by the end of the month, is expected to result in Hostmore being wound up and delisted from the London Stock Exchange.

Its UK restaurants, which have a New York-influenced food and cocktails menu, continue to stay open as normal.

It has not been confirmed if all of TGI’s restaurants could be saved, or just a selection, with others potentially being taken over by another chain.

BARNSLEY manager Darrell Clarke accused his players of “ruining” a “proud night” for him at Old Trafford.

The Tykes suffered a brutal 7-0 defeat to Manchester United on Tuesday following goals from Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Christian Eriksen and Antony.

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Darrell Clarke was left furious following Barnsley’s 7-0 defeat to Man Utd[/caption]

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The Barnsley boss claimed his players ‘ruined’ the night[/caption]

They subsequently crashed out of the Carabao Cup in the third round, leaving manager Clarke furious.

The 46-year-old did not shy away from criticising his players after the match and even claimed they “ruined” the occasion.

He said: “I have had a go at them. I wasn’t happy with the performance, I know we have come to Man United, who have world class players, but I wasn’t happy with how we played.

“Mael (de Gevigney) was the only player who comes out with credit. Did the occasion get to some of them? Yes probably. We have to understand what it takes to be a top player.

“Don’t ever let me hear one of them talking about how bad some Premier League players are. They are miles off. The players were miles off the standards of a top Barnsley player tonight never mind a top Premier League player.

“It was a proud night for myself but it’s been ruined by the performance.”

He went on to add: “What I will say is, I cannot thank our fans enough. Unbelievable.

“I just said to the players, they didn’t deserve that reception after the game.

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“They paid a fortune to come to this game, backed us in their numbers, sang every minute of the game. I can’t thank them enough.

“We need to repay the fans with a proper performance on Saturday. End of.”

Barnsley were competitive for the opening 30 minutes of the match but struggled defensively.

Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag was thrilled with his team’s performance.

He said: “First of all, it was a difficult start but, once we found the shape, it’s not so weird because it’s the first time this team is playing together.

“But once we found the shape and the patterns, we scored some great goals, starting with Rashford which was a brilliant goal but I’d also say some other goals were really good.

“We played with a lot of speed and we were very ruthless in front of the goal.”

Gas prices have plummeted about 13% from a 2024 peak in April, which amounts to a decline of nearly 50 cents per gallon, according to AAA data.

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has continued to teamed up with the nation’s largest container terminal, AMP Terminal, Apapa to grow non-oil export for the country. The robust collaboration between NPA and APMT has seen non-oil export from the nation’s busiest seaport, Apapa Port, rising Year on Year (YOY) Presently, non oil export from APM […]

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has shut down an illegal factory producing counterfeit cosmetics in Lagos, valued at approximately N50m. The factory, located at Benue Plaza in the Trade Fair Complex, was targeted as part of an ongoing crackdown on the production and distribution of substandard and counterfeit products …

This article contains a brief mention of racism. MAJOR SPOILERS for Netflix’s The Perfect Couple are ahead! Shooter Divall’s wealth in The Perfect Couple becomes a leading factor in his being a suspect, raising questions about how he is so rich. Netflix’s new hit murder mystery has dominated the global charts despite The Perfect Couple …

A mother-daughter reunion. Gilmore Girls fans got a real treat at Kelly Bishop’s first official event for the release of her memoir The Third Gilmore Girl on Sept. 17. The 80-year-old, who...

TEMPLEGATE put up 11-2 Ebor winner Magical Zoe at a huge 16-1 in his ante-post column for Members Enclosure readers – and now Sun Racing’s top tipster is back with his Arc de Triomphe selection.

The self-titled ‘world’s greatest race’ looks wide open this year.

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This year’s Arc looks wide open meaning there’s still plenty of value around[/caption]

On a key trials weekend last weekend, long-time ante-post favourite Look De Vega disappointed when smashed off the boards before the Prix Neil.

Big rival Sosie won the Group 2 warm-up for the big one on Sunday, October 6 – and bookies made him the new 4-1 favourite.

There is a whole host of top-class talent in behind, including the likes of Aidan O’Brien’s Irish Derby winner Los Angeles and Japanese raider Shin Emperor.

And don’t discount the Joseph O’Brien-trained Al Riffa.

He won the Westminster 134th Grosser Preis von Berlin when last seen in August.

Now, the name of that race may mean nothing to you.

But a look at the previous winners shows it’s a key contest en route to Arc success, given Torquator Tasso and Alpinista won it in 2020 and 2021 respectively before victory in Paris.

It’s a devilishly difficult Arc to decipher this year and, as ever, the draw and ground will play a key part.

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His ante-post selection and 1-2 forecast prediction is LIVE NOW for Members Enclosure readers – simply click HERE to read.

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Remember to gamble responsibly

A responsible gambler is someone who:

• Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
• Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
• Never chases their losses
• Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
• Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
• Gamble Aware – www.gambleaware.org

Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.

A WOMAN whose bizarre symptoms were blamed on being a “fresher” and “drinking too much” received a devastating diagnosis.

Lucy Younger, 24, started experiencing started symptoms before she started university such as zoning out, smelling bacon and frequent déjà vu.

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But doctors put her symptoms down to anxiety and being a fresher[/caption]

SWNS

Her symptoms got worse at university but doctors dismissed her symptoms and told her she was “drinking too much” and needed to “slow down”.

Lucy spent the next year going back and forth to the GP but was dismissed and given antidepressants.

After finally being referred, a CT scan revealed a benign brain tumour, for which Lucy had to undergo a craniotomy to remove.

She hopes to help others to push to get a diagnosis to catch brain tumours early.

Lucy, a trainee journalist, from Crystal Palace, London, said: “Freshers started and my symptoms got quite a lot worse.

“Doctors said ‘you’re a fresher, you need to slow down’.

“They said ‘it’s a mixture of you being anxious and drinking too much’.

“They were making out I had an issue. I was just being a fresher.

“It just got blamed on being a fresher.”

Lucy first started noticing symptoms just before she started her BA in English at Goldsmiths, in September 2018.

She started experiencing déjà vu, as well as visual hallucinations – like pink elephants and rollercoasters.

Initially thinking she was just partying too hard during freshers, Lucy stopped drinking as much, and regularly chose staying in over nights out.

But her symptoms only started getting worse – and she experienced a range of sensory hallucinations, like smelling bacon, pins and needles in her face and tasting metal.

She went to the GP when she started getting sharp headaches – but they blamed it on anxiety and “being a fresher”.

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Lucy graduating in 2022[/caption]

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She started suffering seizures and migraines in 2020[/caption]

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Lucy said: “Straight away, they were like – it’s anxiety.

“I didn’t feel all that anxious, but I’d just done a big move from Newquay to London and was meeting lots of new people – so I thought, I guess my brain’s just working overtime.

“But I was still skeptical – I felt really happy with where my life was at that point.”

‘Something wasn’t right’

Lucy started to struggle with her concentration and would zone out during lectures but doctors put this down to depression and panic attacks and prescribed her with anxiety medication.

She said: “I figured, they’re the GP – they know what they’re talking about, so I guess I’ll just do what they say.”

But Lucy’s symptoms continued to persist – and doctors then told her it was hormonal caused by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

She said: “I just knew something wasn’t right.”

I started getting migraines so bad the entire right side of my body would go numb. I thought, I’m either going into psychosis or I’ve got a tumour – it definitely wasn’t depression or anxiety

Lucy Younger

When Lucy came home in March 2020, when the pandemic hit during her second year of university, she started experiencing seizures.

She said: “I had a couple of bigger seizures when I went home – I actually passed out with these ones.

“I started getting migraines so bad the entire right side of my body would go numb.

“I thought, I’m either going into psychosis or I’ve got a tumour – it definitely wasn’t depression or anxiety.”

Lucy had started Googling her own symptoms and said everything pointed to epilepsy and a brain tumour – but doctors dismissed this.

She said: “They said ‘you’re too young’. ‘A girl like you wouldn’t have a brain tumour’.”

‘You know your body’

Feeling helpless, with permanent hallucinations, Lucy rang a local pharmacist and cried down the phone to him.

He sent a letter to her GP, recommending they refer her for a CT scan as soon as possible.

Lucy added: “My pharmacist advocated for me – once he’d spoken to my GP, they arranged for me to have a CT scan.

“I went in the July – and finally got my diagnosis of a benign brain tumour.”

Lucy had surgery four months later to remove the tumour and was able to return to university in 2021 to complete her studies.

She is now able to live a normal life but has to live with epilepsy and short term memory loss.

She said: “You do know your own body.

“If there is something wrong you need to advocate for yourself.

“I caught my brain tumour early.

“If I hadn’t there could have been a chance it wouldn’t have been removed and the ending would have been a different scenario.

“People think a brain tumour is a death sentence – it’s not always that way.”

ISRAEL was forced to launch its deadly pager attack in Lebanon early over fears the secret operation had been discovered by Hezbollah, US officials have claimed.

The elaborate plot to blow up thousands of the self-destructing devices went into action after reports of Hezbollah operatives raising suspicions about them.

The attack saw hundreds of devices detonating across Lebanon leaving at least eleven people dead – including two young girls- and thousands injured.

Israel was planning to use the booby-trapped pagers in the event of an- all-out war, in a major blow to the terror group, an ex-Israeli official told Axios.

But Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, top ministers and the IDF made the call to detonate the pagers rather than risking becoming detected.

A US official said the Israeli government became increasingly worried after reports that two Hezbollah operatives raised suspicions about the pagers in the past days.

“It was a use it or lose it moment,” they told Axios.

Two sources claimed Mossad was behind the attack and managed to infiltrate the 5,000 gadgets that were ordered months ago.

They said the devices had been modified by Israel’s spy service “at the production level.”

The operation with a trail running from Taiwan to Hungary was described as the group’s “biggest security breach” since Gaza, by a Hezbollah official.

The beepers were made by Taiwan-based Gold Apollo but the firm has dismissed claims of a link to the explosions.

The company said the AR-924 pagers were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT based in Budapest which is licensed to use the firm’s brand.

Speaking outside the company’s offices in New Taipei, Gold Apollo founder Hsu Ching-Kuang said the pagers used in the explosion were made by a company in Europe.

“The product was not ours. It was only that it had our brand on it.”

A statement from the company reads: “According to the cooperation agreement, we authorize BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in designated regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC.”

A Hezbollah source said the pagers were “brand new” and had not been used by fighters before.

The plot appears to have been in the making for months, sources said.

The devices had been ordered after the group’s leader ordered members to stop using phones in February over fears they could be tracked by Israeli spies.

A senior Lebanese security source said the group had ordered 5,000 beepers which were brought into the country in the spring.

They said: “The Mossad injected a board inside of the device that has explosive material that receives a code.

“It’s very hard to detect it through any means. Even with any device or scanner.”

They added that 3,000 of the pagers exploded when a coded message was sent to them, simultaneously activating the explosives.

The senior Lebanese security source identified a photograph of the model of the pager, an AP-924, which like other pagers wirelessly receive and display text messages but cannot make telephone calls.

The deadly blast left almost 3,000 injured, including Hezbollah’s terrorists and the Iranian ambassador.

Iran-backed Hezbollah blamed Israel for the attack and vowed to retaliate.

It appeared that many if not most of those hit were members of Hezbollah.

The blasts were mainly Hezbollah strongholds like the south Beirut suburbs and the Beqaa region of eastern Lebanon.