A fight to get the Yates’s wine bar spot on Leicester Square that was up for grabs for the first time this century, has been won by an American-themed restaurant.
TGI Fridays told The Evening Standard the 10,000 square feet building beneath Capital radio’s headquarters, will be its 70th UK site.
Yates’s is leaving the property later this year and there was fierce competition for the site owing to tourist numbers in the area.
Landlord Criterion Capital was seeking rent of £2 million a year for the 25-year lease on the corner of the square, famed for its status as London’s home to glitzy red carpet movie premieres.
Karen Forrester, TGI Fridays UK chief executive said: “We are incredibly excited to be expanding the ever-increasing Fridays family, and opening our flagship store in London’s vibrant Leicester Square.
“Well known as the UK’s centre for entertainment and fun, it was precisely these attributes that attracted us to the site. We will fit in perfectly.”
Property agents Nash Bond and Savills advised the landlord.
