Mon 2nd Mar 2015 - TGI Friday’s to open six sites in 2015, ten in 2016 TGI Friday’s to open six sites in 2015, ten in 2016: TGI Friday’s is to open six new UK sites before the end of 2015 and ten in 2016 – 700 new jobs will be created this year. The expansion comes after Electra Partners bought the UK business in December for circa £225m. Chief executive Karen Forrester said: “We will be on the lookout for great candidates to come and join the Fridays family in 2015, forge their careers with us in the hospitality industry and live our four key values of pride, passion, personality and protection.” TGI Friday’s is also celebrating being named the ‘Best Big Company to Work for in the UK’ in this year’s Sunday Times Best Companies to Work for 2015. The feat is all the more remarkable as it is Friday’s first entry in the ‘big companies’ category, where it competed against some of the largest organisations in the UK. The Best Companies award results are based on feedback from team members, with Friday’s scooping top spot on team, leadership, training and wellbeing. This was coupled with employees feeling ‘a strong sense of family’ (82%), ‘fun’ (86%) and that they work with ‘teams they get a buzz out of’ (77%). Team members also said that working at Friday’s is ‘good for personal growth’ (80%) and that they ‘love working for the chain’ (79%) – again, all achieving number one scores. Friday’s was further recognised in the awards for the industry-leading training it offers – both on-the-job and at the recently opened ‘Friday’s Academy’, based in Luton, where all leadership and management courses are held. It also runs a respected apprenticeship programme – last year, Fridays gained 111 team members through this scheme and currently has 180 learners on its course. The brand will also be recruiting for 100 management-level positions in 2015 across several sites, meaning that there will be career progression opportunities for both new and existing team members. In December, Forrester said of the sale: “In Electra Partners we are delighted to have found a long-term partner capable of supporting our growth ambitions, as we look to further expand TGI Friday’s’ share of the UK market.” Alex Fortescue, chief investment partner of Electra Partners, said: “This is the first new investment we have made since announcing a record level of investment for the year to 30 September 2014 and we are delighted to have been able to put more of Electra Private Equity’s cash to work in such a promising opportunity.” Today Electra Private Equity said its investment portfolio showed an upward net movement of £38 million in its first quarter, as the private equity investment trust invested in more new investments than it realised by exiting others. In a statement, the private equity investment trust managed by Electra Partners said that £117 million was invested in the three months to the end of December, including £99 million in TGI Friday’s, while £89 million was realised.