Nov 2 (Reuters) - TGI Fridays, an American casual dining

chain, said on Saturday that it has filed for Chapter 11

bankruptcy protection after grappling with prolonged financial

challenges and a collapsed deal with UK-based Hostmore.

The court filing was lodged at the Northern District of

Texas.

Privately owned by TriArtisan Capital Advisors, TGI Fridays

has been a beloved dining destination since its inaugural bar

opened in Manhattan, New York, over five decades ago, in 1965.

TGI Fridays, owner and operator of 39 domestic "Thank God

it's Friday!" restaurants said it maintains operations across

its corporate-owned 'happy hour' dining places in the U.S.,

adding that it has secured a financing commitment to support

operations.

Rohit Manocha, executive chairman of TGI Fridays said: "The

primary driver of our financial challenges resulted from

COVID-19 and our capital structure.

"This restructuring will allow our go-forward restaurants

to proceed with an optimized corporate infrastructure that

enables them to reach their full potential."

In September, British restaurant operator Hostmore 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

restaurant chain franchise.

Hostmore, which operated TGI Fridays in Britain through it's

unit Thursdays (UK), saw its shares crash 90% after the news,

and later announced its intention to enter administration,

overwhelmed by debt.

The administrators of Thursdays (UK) in October said 35 of

TGI Fridays restaurants in the country have been closed, leading

to 1,012 job losses.

After the bankruptcy announcement on Saturday, the

Dallas-based chain said that all of the franchise locations both

domestic and international would be operating as usual.

TGI Fridays Franchisor has franchised the brand to 56

franchisees in 41 countries. The restaurant operator said that

those stores are independently owned and are not part of the

Chapter 11 process.